


baby of mine

by suddenlyatiger



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (not stiles/derek), Abusive Relationships, Alpha Derek, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Friend Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Childbirth, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fake Marriage, Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, Omega Stiles Stilinski, Omegaverse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Pregnant Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Slow Burn, The Hale Family (Teen Wolf) Lives, Theo Raeken is a piece of shit, discussions of abortion, inaccurate portrayal of labour and delivery i'm sure, omegas aren't treated well in this society
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 78,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28699575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suddenlyatiger/pseuds/suddenlyatiger
Summary: "It's not a joke," Stiles says. He looks at Derek, brown eyes wide and worried. "I need your help.""By marrying you?" Derek asks."Yes," Stiles says.
Relationships: (past) Stiles Stilinski/Theo Raeken, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Natalie Martin/Sheriff Stilinski
Comments: 1371
Kudos: 1928





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> am i posting a new WIP when I already have a couple of unfinished WIPs on here? yes, and I apologize
> 
> also this fic is a lot darker than my other ones, heed the tags and warnings

"Derek, I need you to marry me," Stiles says.

Derek does a literal spit-take with the coffee he's just drunk. Because _what_?

"What!?" Derek sputters.

***

The thing about Stiles is that Derek isn't entirely sure whether he likes him or not. Sure, he can be sweet, funny, and witty. And he's, frankly, gorgeous. But on the flip side, he can also be very annoying and irritating.

Derek's known him since high school, remembers him as an awkward, loud-mouthed omega who shot his mouth off at nearly everyone.

They never really hung out together, though their social circles always mixed. Stiles' best friend Scott played on the high school lacrosse team with Derek and some of his close friends, and Stiles was also good friends with Derek's younger sister Cora.

There were times, here and there, when Derek thought that maybe there was _something_ between him and Stiles. They were alpha and omega, and Stiles could certainly be considered a good catch when he wasn't being aggravating. Derek had always had a bit of a thing for sarcastic quick-witted omegas who weren't afraid to tell him what was what. Or afraid of him at all, come to that. It also didn't hurt that Stiles had looks and a scent that could get Derek's motor running, fueling many a 'private time' session, though he'd never admit it out loud.

But the timing never seemed to be right for them. When one of them was single, the other was in a relationship. Or one or both of them were too far up their own asses with teenage angst and ridiculousness.

Derek left for college a year ahead of Stiles, and when he came home that first summer he'd heard that Stiles had left town with Theo Raeken. Derek hadn't seen him again after that.

Until now.

***

"Will you stop that," Stiles whispers harshly, gaze darting around the coffee shop as Derek fusses with the mess he's suddenly made with his coffee.

"Well, excuse me for having a reaction," Derek gripes. "What did you expect would happen when you asked me something like _that_?"

"I don't know," Stiles mutters.

"Christ," Derek says, swiping at his face with a napkin. "This is a weird idea for a joke, Stiles."

"It's not a joke," Stiles says. He looks at Derek, brown eyes wide and worried. "I need your help."

"By marrying you?" Derek asks.

"Yes," Stiles says. Derek eyes Stiles suspiciously. He wracks his brain but can't really come up with a scenario where suddenly marrying Stiles – who he literally hasn't seen in years – would be a viable solution.

"Okay, you're going to have to explain this to me," Derek says.

"I will take you not immediately throwing your coffee in my face and leaving a good sign," Stiles says. Derek grunts. Stiles glances around the shop again before leaning over the table, closer to Derek. Derek mirrors the move, catching Stiles' scent. It's mostly like what he remembers from high school; definitely not unpleasant.

"If you didn't want people to overhear, why ask to meet in public?" Derek asks.

"I didn't think you'd agree to meet somewhere private," Stiles says. "Alright, so... I'm pregnant." Derek's eyebrows shoot up.

"What--"

"Just hear me out," Stiles says, holding up a hand and looking down at the table.  Derek narrows his eyes. "I… Okay, look, you know what things are like for unmarried, pregnant omegas, right? I mean, I know you're an alpha, but I also know you're not completely ignorant."

Derek does know. As far as omega rights have come in the past decades, there are still a lot of areas where they fall short. Especially where body autonomy and children are concerned. Society has gotten to the point where, in most places, unmarried omegas can either get an abortion or retain custody of any children they bear as long as the alpha sire doesn't contest it. If the alpha _does_ contest it...

"So you're worried about your alpha?" Derek asks.

"I don't have an alpha," Stiles says harshly, eyes blazing. "I got away, finally. And to stay away I need to do something about this baby." There's a lot that Stiles isn't telling Derek, obviously, but Derek can read between the lines enough to know not to ask about it. He doesn't need to know particulars right now. He also doesn't ask why Stiles just doesn't get an abortion that would solve all his current problems. He knows that omegas, whether married or not, need permission from the alpha sire to abort legally. And illegal abortions are mostly unsafe to the point where the risk isn't worth it unless someone was _really_ desperate. There's also still a stigma that comes with getting an abortion, which Derek thinks is absolutely ridiculous, but these are still the times they're all _somehow_ still living in.

"Alright," Derek says. "But is marrying me your only option?" Stiles goes quiet and gnaws at his lips a bit. "Aren't you still friends with Scott McCall? If you'd need to marry anyone for something like this, I'd've thought you'd pick him." Though, even as he says this, Derek frowns. It's been about maybe five years since Stiles graduated high school and left town with his boyfriend at the time. For all he knows, Stiles and Scott aren't even friends anymore. Just because Derek has kept in contact with his high school friends, doesn't mean Stiles has.

"I don't think I can trust Scott on something like this," Stiles says grudgingly, like he doesn't want to believe it. "Believe me, if that would work I wouldn't be trying to drag you into this mess."

"So you trust me, then?" Derek asks.

"I think so," Stiles says. "At least, you've never given me a reason not to. And I... Do you remember that thing with Erica Reyes in high school? That party?" Derek nods. Even with that fairly vague descriptor, he knows exactly what Stiles is talking about. That whole situation was traumatic enough that it's forever burned into Derek's memory. He doesn't really remember anything about the actual events of that particular party, too hyped up on adrenaline and fury at the time, just what he'd eventually told the cops afterward. About how Erica, an omega, had suddenly gone into heat at the party and had almost been attacked and raped by several nearby alphas until Derek had realized what was happening and fought them all off until Erica could be safety transported back home.

"She's Erica Boyd now," Derek says. Stiles nods.

"Right," he says. "I haven't really kept tabs on... anyone except Scott, really. I wasn't at that party, but I heard about what you did, and I've always judged you as a person based on that. So, unless you've made a complete 180 since then, I think I can trust you with this."

"That's a lot to hang something this serious on," Derek says.

"I know," Stiles says. "But Cora vouched for you. She's actually the one that suggested you when I told her about this whole plot. And I trust her. After what she's done for me the past months, I trust her with my life." This information comes as a surprise to Derek. As far as he knows, Cora is one of the people Stiles ghosted after leaving town.

"And on top of that," Stiles continues, grimacing. "And I know this makes me sound like a total sleaze. But your family's loaded. If Theo ends up coming back to try to claim the baby, he wouldn't be able to afford to go against whatever your family could throw at him. Money talks and all that."

"Theo? Theo Raeken?" Derek asks. "He's the sire?" Stiles nods miserably. Derek narrows his eyes at Stiles. Derek remembers Theo from high school; they played lacrosse together. He doesn't remember Theo particularly fondly, but he never really disliked him to the point of considering basically stealing his omega and baby from him.

"I know you and Theo were, like, friends or whatever, in high school," Stiles says. Derek is surprised to hear his voice shake. "But I _cannot_ go back to him. And I can't let him have this baby. Maybe he always treated you fine, but he is not a safe person."

"But... you left with him," Derek says. "After graduation. That's what everyone was saying."

"I know," Stiles says. "And it was the biggest mistake of my life. And not doing everything in my power to protect this baby from him would be an even bigger mistake. But I can't do it on my own, no matter how much I want to." Derek looks him over. Stiles has hunched in on himself in his seat and is looking down at the table between them. Derek also notes the paleness of his skin, the moisture gathering on his lashes, and the trembling of his lips. There's a thread of desperation starting to weave itself into his normal scent, and it's setting a lot of Derek's protective instincts on high alert.

There's definitely something more going on here than just someone trying to make a clean break with an ex. Derek would be stupid not to notice.

"Okay," he says, after a full minute of silence. "I'm not saying no, but I need time to think this over." Stiles nods and looks up at Derek through his eyelashes.

"I can give you a week," he says. "Don't... don't ask me for any more time than that. I'm not sure how much time I have to work with."

With that, he gets up from the table and walks away. Derek's gaze follows him out of the shop and into the parking lot, where he climbs into the passenger seat of a police cruiser that Derek recognizes as belonging to the sheriff.

The cruiser starts up and drives away, disappearing beyond the view of the window. Derek stays sitting at the table for the next little bit, alone with his racing thoughts.

***

***


	2. Chapter 2

Stiles' phone rings as soon as he enters through the front door of his childhood home, a few steps behind his father. He checks the ID, sees Scott's name, then sends the call to voicemail.

He doesn't have the bandwidth to deal with Scott right now.

"Is that Derek answering already?" the sheriff asks, throwing a surprised look over his shoulder as he heads into the kitchen.

"Nah, looked like a wrong number," Stiles says. He toes off his shoes and follows his father into the kitchen. He finds the sheriff looking through the fridge.

"I'm sure Natalie bought some Dr Pepper yesterday," the sheriff mumbles. Then he looks over at Stiles with worried eyes. "You gonna tell me how it went yet?"

Stiles drops into one of the kitchen chairs. "He said he'd think about it," he says. "Which was a lot more than I was expecting, honestly."

"It _is_ a lot to ask of someone," the sheriff says. "Especially someone you haven't seen in a while."

"I know," Stiles says. If he's being truly honest with himself, he's really expecting Derek to say no. As good a person as Stiles is sure Derek is, this whole situation is _way_ too much to involve someone unrelated in. And Derek doesn't even know all the facts.

But Stiles really wants to give this a shot, because if this falls through all he has are last-resort options that Stiles _really_ doesn't want to truly consider, but he will if he has to. He may not even survive them, but that would be a much better outcome than falling back into Theo's clutches.

For the nth time, he wishes he'd never agreed to leave Beacon Hills with Theo. That will forever remain the biggest regret of his entire life.

***

18-year-old Stiles was positively _itching_ to get away.

He was suffocating in Beacon Hills and its small-town thoughts about omegas and their place in the world. He might have been able to stomach most of it, if it weren't for his father apparently agreeing with a lot of it.

Finding out that his father wanted him to be more of a proper omega – someone who wanted to just get a cursory education and a little job to tide him over until he could find an alpha and start a family – was a huge blow to him and his view of his father.

And it wasn't even like Stiles never wanted to settle down and have a family; he'd actually wanted to have children for as long as he could remember. But he also wanted to have a career and a life. He didn't want to live his whole life with his whole identity being 'just an omega'. He wanted to be Stiles.

All the alphas and betas he knew got to have an actual life outside of potentially having partners and families; why couldn't he?

He'd been dating Theo for a few months at that point, and had actually ranted and raved at him about that very thing. Theo listened to Stiles, agreeing where he was supposed to, and said all the right things to make Stiles think that he was firmly on his side.

So with high school over, several options for college, and a strained relationship with his father; Stiles barely even thought twice when Theo asked him to leave with him.

Stiles was actually optimistic as he packed up his Jeep, prepared to follow Theo anywhere and start a life with him.

That optimism was rewarded with nearly five years of escalating horror.

***

Cora calls Stiles later that night and Stiles immediately answers, stretched out on his bed in his childhood bedroom.

"Y'know, I actually think you might have a shot here," Cora opens with.

"What?" Stiles asks.

"I just got back from Derek's place," Cora says. "He had his 'deep thinking' face on the whole time I was there."

"Really?" Stiles asks, heart speeding up. "Did he ask you any questions?"

"He did ask me when I got back in touch with you," Cora says. "And he asked me what I helped you with."

"Did you tell him anything?" Stiles asks.

"All I told him was that I helped get you out of a bad situation," Cora says. "Everything else has to come from you. I don't know the whole story, so I won't be able to explain it as well as you can. It has to come from you."

"Yeah," Stiles says. "I figured. I really won't be able to repay you for... any of this, really."

"Stiles," Cora says. "I don't need you to do anything for me. I don't need thanks for this. It's what any good person should do."

"I know you don't believe me, but I'm pretty sure the Hale alphas are just a special breed, or something," Stiles says, turning over onto his side facing the wall.

"I think you've just spent too much time around assholes," Cora says.

"That too," Stiles says. "So... you think he's actually gonna go along with this?" Cora is quiet for a few beats.

"I think if he decides not to actually marry you, he'll do everything in his power to help you another way," she says.

That's really all that Stiles will let himself hope for right now.

***

Leaning over the toilet, retching, at balls o'clock in the morning is not how Stiles likes to spend his time.

Unfortunately, he's been doing it a lot as of late.

As annoying as it is, though, Stiles is beyond elated that his morning sickness being actual _morning_ sickness is what really helped him keep this all a secret from Theo.

Not that Theo ever tended to care much when Stiles showed any symptoms of illness that didn't directly inconvenience him in some way. But Stiles has a theory about this situation, and he's pretty sure that Theo would be _very_ interested in sudden and persistent bouts of nausea.

Stiles spits into the toilet and then reaches up to flush it. After rinsing out his mouth he leaves the bathroom and stumbles back to bed. His father's bedroom door is closed at the end of the hall, and Stiles hopes that means he and Natalie are still asleep.

Stiles curls up in his blankets and checks his phone. He's got some notifications for unread texts and missed calls, all from Scott. Stiles still isn't ready to deal with him yet. And won't be until he's either safety married to Derek, or he's decided on a different route to solve his issue.

He rests one of his hands on his still-flat belly.

Honestly, if he wanted to be really thorough about all this, he'd just drag Derek to one of the local clinics and forge the permission paperwork saying that Derek was the baby's alpha sire. Get the whole situation over and done with and then he can move on with his life.

Though, even a legal abortion with permission could sometimes be a lengthy process with any possibility for roadblocks thrown in. And if Theo decided to look for Stiles in Beacon Hills and discover the truth? Then the shit would really hit the fan and make an even bigger mess.

For the nth time in his life, Stiles curses the backwards laws in this country. If he had his way, abortions would be free and clear for anyone who wanted one, no need for permission from unreasonable and potentially dangerous alphas.

Stiles' eyes suddenly fill with tears and he angrily dashes them away with a closed fist. He's so frustrated with this whole situation, and part of that frustration is directed at himself for letting things get this far, even though he'd never really had any control over much of anything after a certain point.

***

***


	3. Chapter 3

Derek's week is running out and he's still no closer to making a decision.

He's not sure he'll be able to truly decide one way or the other until he has a real sit-down talk with Stiles to get everything out in the open. There's a lot that Stiles isn't telling him, and Derek doesn't want to involve himself in this and fall into some kind of hole out of ignorance.

Talking with Cora has really cemented the gravity of the whole situation, but hasn't really convinced him that marriage is the best option here.

With only a couple of days left on the clock, he decides to loop in his parents, thinking they'll be able to give him some advice.

***

The face Talia makes after Derek explains everything would probably be hilarious in any other circumstances. She grips the edges of the kitchen island she, Derek, and Derek's father are standing around.

"What the actual hell, Derek?" She demands. She turns the look on her husband and makes a wild gesture at Derek. Samuel Hale just shrugs.

"It sounds pretty out there," he says.

" _Sounds_? It _is_ pretty out there!" Talia exclaims. "It's insane and I can't believe you're even entertaining this, Derek!"

"Well, it sounds like he needs help," Derek says. "If I'm in a position to help him, I don't see why I shouldn't."

"Helping is one thing," Talia says. "But this is _marriage_. This isn't a little thing! Do you really understand what Stiles is asking here?"

"Yes," Derek says. "He's asking for the protection of an alpha because society is backwards enough to make him need it."

"Christ," Talia mutters. "Does it have to be you? I remember the Stilinski boy always hanging out with that Scott McCall. He's an alpha, why isn't he being asked to do this?" Derek has already thought this over, so he had his own theories.

"I think a part of it is that something happened with Scott and Stiles feels like he can't depend on him for this," Derek says slowly. "And I think another part is definitely the financial aspect."

"So this is a scheme to just get money," Talia says with a snort. "Jesus Christ, Derek, didn't I drill it through your head enough to be careful about these kinds of people? Did you learn nothing from the whole Kate Argent debacle!?" Derek flinches away from her and looks down.

"Talia..." Samuel says.

"I'm sorry, Derek," Talia says, though she doesn't sound particularly sorry. "But an attempted extorsion plot wasn't any fun for us the first time, and I'm sure it won't be any more fun the second time around."

"I'm sure Stiles isn't trying to extort any money from us," Samuel says, the calm voice to Talia's excited one. "He really sounds like he's in a pretty difficult situation and needs help."

"How much does he want?" Talia asks.

"Mom!" Derek exclaims. "He didn't ask for money. He doesn't want money, he just needs an alpha. The money angle is just a scare tactic to keep the alpha sire from pushing the issue."

"I'm sure," Talia snorts.

"Not all omegas are lucky enough to get it right with their first serious relationship with an alpha," Samuel says evenly, cutting a glare at Talia. "And it certainly doesn't help that our society makes it so hard for them to protect themselves if they don't."

"Don’t take his side just because he's a poor little omega," Talia snaps. "Worry more about your son. Or do alphas not need to be looked out for?"

"That's not what this is and you know it," Samuel snaps.

"My, my, things are sounding lively in here." Derek whirls around at the new voice to see his uncle Peter walking into the kitchen.

"What are you doing here, Peter?" Talia asks on a frustrated sigh. Samuel seems almost happy at the sudden distraction.

"What, I can't come to visit my favourite sister?" Peter asks, smirking. He sidles up next to Derek at the island and gives him a considering look. Derek groans.

"Cora texted you, didn't she?" he asks.

"Of course," Peter says. "Apparently she thinks I can help by offering my unbiased opinion on things. And I just happened to be in the neighbourhood so I figured, why not?"

"You couldn't just 'be in the neighbourhood', Peter, we're out in the woods," Talia says. Peter just shrugs, his smirk is now all teeth. Derek rolls his eyes.

"Alright, let's have it," he says.

"Wait," Samuel says. "How is Peter's opinion unbiased?" Peter points to himself with a thumb.

"Beta," he says. "I have no personal experience with being either an alpha or an omega and therefore have less feelings involved in the situation." Talia and Samuel share a look. Derek rolls his eyes again, although he internally concedes that his uncle may just have a point.

"Do you even know what the situation is?" Talia asks.

"Unmarried pregnant omega seeks well-connected and trustworthy alpha to marry so as to keep abusive ex-alpha out of the picture," Peter says.

"Abusive ex-alpha?" Samuel asks. He looks to Derek. "You didn't mention that."

"Neither did Stiles," Derek says. "Is that what Cora said?"

"It's what Cora implied," Peter says. "As Stiles must have to you, otherwise you wouldn't be going through all this for someone who hasn't been around in years. And I know you had a little crush on him in high school, but even that wouldn't account for all this."

"Abusive ex or not," Talia says, "this omega isn't our responsibility. And certainly not financially."

"Why is it always the money with you?" Derek asks. "You know extorsion wasn't the only thing Kate tried to do."

"It isn't always the money," Talia says. "But even outside of that, marriage is a big commitment."

"Yes, and it also offers Stiles legal protection against his ex," Derek says. "As... fucked up as it is, making him my legal omega is basically akin to ownership. At that point, Theo can't touch him or the baby without going through me."

"Theo?" Peter asks.

"Wasn't he one of your lacrosse friends?" Samuel asks.

"Teammate," Derek says. "Either way. If Stiles is reaching out after five years of silence for something like this, then it must mean that he's in some serious trouble. There's really no reason why I can't marry him right now. It's not like I'm dating anyone at the moment."

"But--" Talia says, only to be interrupted by Peter.

"If the money worries you so much, make him sign a pre-nup, or did you forget those exist?"

"Your parents had me sign one," Samuel points out.

"Seriously?" Derek asks. He's never heard this story.

"There's a reason I've always said that you're lucky my parents died before you were born," Peter says.

"Peter!" Talia exclaims. Peter shrugs. Derek groans.

"Fine, fine!" He says. "Have a pre-nup made up and I'll have Stiles sign it."

"So you're actually going through with this?" Talia asks.

Derek's mouth opens and closes soundlessly a few times. "I guess I am," he finally says.

***

***


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for discussions of abusive relationships

Stiles is pretty sure that the only reason that his father isn't hitting the roof over his plan to try to marry Derek is because he's afraid that any pushback on his part will send Stiles running again.

Stiles doesn't necessarily blame his father's former designs for his life, but he can't deny that it played a fairly large part of pushing him out of Beacon Hills.

All John Stilinski has ever wanted is the best for his son, but sometimes it's like he forgets that Stiles is more than just his secondary gender.

"And you're sure this is the only way to keep Theo away?" the sheriff asks. He and Stiles are both sitting at opposite ends of the living room couch, staring at the ballgame on TV without actually watching it.

"This is the best case scenario," Stiles says. He can see the sheriff's jaw tightening out of the corner of his eye. He's been in the police force long enough to know what several worst-case scenarios could be.

"And what happens if you or Derek meet someone else down the line?" the sheriff asks. "Or if Derek isn't interested in raising another alpha's child?"

"Dad, I don't expect this marriage to be a lifetime commitment," Stiles says. "I just need it to last long enough for Derek to claim the baby as his. Anything after that is fair game. Derek can divorce me as soon as the baby pops out if he wants. As long as the baby is safe from Theo I don't really care what else happens."

"You know, a quicker solution would be to just have Derek pose as your alpha and get his permission for an abortion," the sheriff says.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "Except that with all the paperwork and checks that needs, there's no end of ways that it could go wrong. I've read horror stories on the internet. Trust me, it's not as quick as a solution as it sounds. And knowing my luck, if I tried to go in there'd be a sudden change in the law saying that unmarried omegas couldn't get abortions at all. Or that legal abortions would be outlawed altogether. Again."

"Hmm," the sheriff grunts.

"Yeah," Stiles says. Another reason why Stiles isn't too hellbent on an abortion is that he honestly doesn't really want one. Oh, he'll get one if he absolutely has to, but the longer the idea of his baby sits with him, the more he finds that he's excited at the prospect of being a father.

It's happening a little sooner than he'd like, and he doesn't have the career he's always wanted,  and the baby's sire is a total piece of shit,  but Stiles has always wanted children and now he has one. On top of that, this proto-child is what really gave him the courage to leave Theo for the second (and, if Stiles has his way, final) time. He feels like he owes the kid for that.

If a marriage to Derek goes through, Stiles is gonna spoil the shit out of this kid.

***

Derek and Stiles meet up at Peter Hale's apartment when Derek's waiting week is up.

Stiles isn't sure if it's a good sign or not. On the one hand, Derek is inviting him into a family member's home, which seems promising. On the other hand, though, maybe Derek just needed somewhere to let Stiles down without having to worry about Stiles making a scene in public.

Stiles doesn't know Peter Hale all that well, mostly just through Cora and Derek. He seems harmless enough. On top of that, him being a beta makes him fairly non-threatening for Stiles. Stiles still side-eyes the smirk on his face as he lets him into the apartment, though.

"Welcome, Stiles," Peter says. Then he gestures with a hand to the living room area where Derek is sitting on an l-shaped couch in front of a coffee table. The coffee table has papers on it, which Stiles takes to maybe be a good sign. Derek wouldn't need paperwork to turn him down, after all.

"Hey, Stiles," Derek says, with a small smile.

"Hey," Stiles says. He takes a seat on the couch next to Derek, a cushion between them. Peter walks over and sits down further down the couch. Stiles throws him a curious look but Peter says nothing.

"So," Derek says, and Stiles snaps his attention to him. "I've thought about this all week, and I'm pretty sure I've made up my mind about what to do. But I still need some more information from you to be sure."

"Alright," Stiles says. "I figured you might."

"Right, so, how far along are you?" Derek asks.

"8 weeks," Stiles says.

"Does Theo know?" Derek asks.

"No," Stiles says. "I'm pretty sure. I never told him and I'm not sure there's any way he could've found out. I was _very_ careful."

"But you had to get confirmation from a doctor," Peter points out. Stiles glances at him where he's lounged on the other end of the sofa, in the other leg of the l-shape.

"I did," Stiles says. "I went to a clinic, used a fake name. Cora was with me, we pretended that she was my alpha."

"Cora did?" Derek asks. "Actually, I'd like to know where she fits in all this, by the way. When did you two start talking again? Or were you in contact the whole time?" Stiles swallows hard. To explain Cora, he'll have to explain everything about Theo. He might as well, since Derek will have to know everything at some point. Neither of them can afford any surprises going into this.

"It's a bit of a complicated story," Stiles says, frowning. He scrubs a hand down his face. "About a year ago, Theo had moved us to some tiny town in bumfuck nowhere Alabama. Somewhere that definitely would n't think twice about an alpha doing whatever they needed to keep their omega 'in line'." He doesn't look at either Derek or Peter, Derek's scent spikes briefly with anger.

"Cora went to Alabama last year," Peter says thoughtfully. "Back when she was trying to visit every state for some Instagram challenge."

"TikTok," Stiles says, smiling briefly. "I guess she'd taken a video and saw me passing in the background when she watched it back. She ended up tracking me down and wanted to catch up. I tried to put her off because Theo kept me on a pretty short leash. She noticed something was off, though."

"Read between the lines?" Derek asks. "She's usually pretty good for that. For better or for worse."

"Oh, yeah. She totally had my number almost right away," Stiles says. "Of course, my black eye and fat lip were certainly pretty obvious clues."

"What," Derek grinds out.

"I don't really like to get into it," Stiles says nervously. "But it would be fair to say that my and Theo's relationship wasn't the best. It didn't start out that way, though."

"They never do," Peter says. His eyes are narrowed when Stiles looks at him, and Stiles nods. A quick look at Derek shows him sitting ramrod straight with a tight grip on the couch cushion under him.

"Maybe it makes me look stupid from the outside," Stiles says. "Hell, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't understand it either if it didn't happen to me. It's obvious what was happening looking back, but by the time I realized what was happening, I was totally trapped."

"Completely isolated?" Peter asks.

"Pretty much," Stiles says. "Theo had managed to cut me off from everyone in my life except for my dad and Scott. They were the people who probably had the most potential to help me get out, but they were also the only two people who had to hear from me at least from time to time otherwise it would be really suspicious."

"You never told them anything?" Derek asks.

"No," Stiles says. "By the time I had something concrete I could maybe tell them, I was too scared of what Theo would do to me if I said anything. There are places in this country that are way backwards where omega rights are concerned, and he somehow convinced me to constantly move with him to these places. So when I decided that I needed to get away, I didn't have any resources. That was almost three years ago now."

"God," Derek breathes.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "I'd finished a two-year college program early on, but Theo convinced me not to get a job right away because he was working on his own career which would involve a lot of moving around. And then in places we stayed long enough for me to find work, they were in places where omegas couldn't open bank accounts without an alpha co-holder, so whatever money I made was controlled by him anyway." Stiles doesn't realize he's shaking until Derek hands him a fleece throw. Stiles grabs it gratefully and wraps himself in it, burying his face in the soft material and getting lungfuls of what must be Peter's scent, which is neutral enough to be neither comforting nor a threat.

"So Cora got you out," Derek says.

"No," Stiles says. "She couldn't. And I don't think I was really ready to leave then. What she did do was get me work. Some editing for a webcomic. I guess she knew a guy who wouldn't ask too many questions as long as I met my deadlines. And it was work I could do offline that looked innocuous enough that Theo never caught on that it was something I was actually getting paid to do. I was paid through a secret Paypal account that was connected to a secret bank account Cora created for me in Beacon Hills."

Stiles takes a deep breath and burrows further into his blanket, not looking at either Derek or Peter. "I was an ungrateful shit to her during all this, and I'm not proud of it. I was angry at myself over letting things with Theo get to this point, and even angrier that I couldn't just tell my dad what was happening, and I took a bit of that out on her. But at that point I was just used to the way things were, so I just went along, working and saving up money, not really knowing what I was going to do with it, if anything.

"That's when Theo brought up us having a baby."

"Were you and Theo ever married?" Derek asks.

"No," Stiles said, shaking his head. "Which was why him wanting a baby came out of the blue. I mean, I'd already told him a while before that I'd always wanted kids. But he'd always wanted to wait. And I figured that when we decided to have kids we'd get married and move back to Beacon Hills to be closer to family. But then he suddenly just brings it up without mentioning marriage or moving back home. And then he told me to keep it a secret from my dad, who I only talked to maybe once a week by that point.

"Something about the whole situation was fishy as hell and I didn't like it," Stiles says. "Maybe I couldn't get myself together enough to actually get myself out of the situation, but I absolutely refused to bring a baby into this mess. And I was actually stupid enough to tell Theo that."

"And... how did he react?" Derek asks, almost reluctantly.

"He put me in the hospital," Stiles says simply. He does  _ not _ want to go into detail about this. It's something he doesn't even like to  _ think _ about, not that he can remember most of it anyway. "Things had been really bad for a while by then, but that was the first time I'd ever been legit afraid for my life. So I  managed to convince one of the omega cleaning staff to  send Cora an SOS, basically, and asked her to try to get me out any way she could."

"I don't remember anything about this," Peter says, eyebrows furrowing. "Cora certainly never came to us for help about this." Stiles shrugs.

"I have no idea what she did," he says. "All I know is that the day I was discharged from the hospital, one of Cora's friends show ed up to pick me up and immediately started driving me out of town.  I think the plan was supposed to be that Cora had organized multiple rides for me from Alabama to California, with someone new driving me every couple of hours."

"This is almost like a movie," Peter comments.

"It felt like a nightmare," Stiles says. "I would've preferred just getting on a plane. Or a bus. But when I asked, one of Cora's friends said that that would be too dangerous because that could make it easier for Theo to find me. The multiple driver plan was supposed to be foolproof, and would get me home safely with my father, who Theo definitely wouldn't cross, what with my dad being the law around here.

"It almost worked too," Stiles says. "But there was a… an issue. Someone told Theo where I was and he ended up coming back to get me."

"Seriously!?" Derek asks. "Someone just handed you back to your… your… abuser?" Stiles nods. His throat closes and he finds that he absolutely can't talk about this part out loud yet. The greatest betrayal of his life, surpassing any of Theo's behaviours. Scott McCall, Stiles' brother-from-another-mother, best friend since elementary school, perpetual nice guy, and believer in true love and second chances, even to Stiles' detriment. He hasn't spoken to Scott since that day at the hotel, when Scott had opened the door to the room to let Theo in, giving Stiles wide puppy eyes and monologuing about second chances and working things out and misunderstandings.

That had been the metaphorical end of the road for Stiles. Something in him broke that day as Theo had taken him by the arm in a too-tight grip over barely healed injuries and led him out of the hotel to the car. Scott had followed along behind them and given Stiles a smile as Theo ushered him into the car.

"I really hope things work out for the two of you," Scott had said before Theo had closed the door between them. Stiles had been numb and was absolutely silent on the hours-long ride back to Alabama. All the fight was gone from him, and now that Theo would be even stricter with him and probably wouldn't let him out of his sight, Stiles had resigned himself to his new fate. Sure that nothing more could be done now.

And then the pink plus sign had appeared on that dollar store home pregnancy test and had given him a new drive to try again. It was one thing for Theo to treat him like shit, it was another thing entirely to subject a helpless baby to it.

"Anyway," Stiles says. The worried looks that Derek and Peter level on him tell him that he's been silent for maybe a bit too long, but there's no way he can vocalize Scott's betrayal right now. Not if he wants to still be functional for the rest of the day. "A little while after that I found out that I was pregnant and decided to try to get away one more time. It was harder this time around because Theo was really paranoid about me getting away again, but I eventually managed with Cora's help. She stuck with me the whole time and pretty much personally delivered me to my father herself."

"And then she volunteered me for marriage?" Derek asks.

"Something like that," Stiles says. "She said she'd marry me herself, but she already has Isaac and I didn't want to get in the way of that. According to her you were 'hopeless single and fair game'. And that's basically the whole story. Any more questions?"

***

***


	5. Chapter 5

Derek feels a bit winded after Stiles' recounting of his escape from Theo Raeken. He can't imagine how Stiles feels right now, though the way he's huddled himself in Peter's fleece throw is screaming 'uncomfortable and afraid'. His scent is also telegraphing some really strong distress signals that make Derek want to give in to his protective instincts and comfort the terrified omega.

He holds himself back because he and Stiles don't have the kind of relationship where he can do that.

Stiles kind of looks like he regrets the offer for more information, but Derek still has more questions. Not about Stiles' time with Theo, though Derek knows he's definitely skipped over a few things. He doesn't need to hear any more about that right now, he's got enough to work with.

If Derek hadn't been sure about marrying Stiles earlier, he definitely is now. At this point, it's no longer about Stiles trying to make a clean break from a persistent ex. Now it's pretty much a matter of life and death and keeping a battered omega and their unborn child away from a monster. Derek's pretty sure he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he turned Stiles down and something worse happened to him without his protection.

Maybe that's putting too much on his shoulders. But like with Erica at the party back in high school, there's no way Derek can stand by and let a helpless omega become someone else's victim. Especially not when there's something concrete he can do to stop it.

"I do have a few questions," Derek says. And Stiles' answering nod is resigned. "About this potential marriage." Stiles perks up and turns hopeful eyes on Derek.

"Yes?" he asks.

"Um…" Derek says. He wishes he'd made notes. "This… this won't be like a real marriage, will it? Like, we're not actually in a relationship."

"Oh, no," Stiles says, shaking his head. "No. This is just for legal protection. I don't expect any romance or, like, devotion or anything. All I ask is that you treat me like an equal and provide a safe space for me to live. Unless we don't have to actually live together, in which case you can just treat me like an equal. A low bar, but apparently it has to be said."

"I'd say you will have to live together," Peter pipes up. "Living apart could potentially create some doubt surrounding the paternity of the baby. We might live in a more progressive state, but Beacon Hills is still a small town with some small minds. Best not to invite any extra trouble."

"Ah, hmm," Stiles says.

"My apartment has two bedrooms," Derek says. "The spare bedroom doesn't actually have a bed at the moment, but I can fix that easy." The spare bedroom also contains Derek's exercise equipment and extra bookshelves, so those will all have to be moved. He makes a mental note to start organizing that as soon as he gets back home.

"Worst case scenario I can bring my old one from Dad's," Stiles says.

"Up to you," Derek says. "So do you still have your job? I have no issue supporting you if you don't."

"I do, actually," Stiles says. "Cora was able to get me back in touch with the webcomic guy after I got away from Theo the second time. While we're on the subject, I'd like to keep our finances as separate as possible. I'm pretty sure you won't try to control me with money, but I'd rather not even put myself in that hypothetical position ever again."

"That’s fair," Derek says, then grimaces. "Actually, my parents--"

"Your mother," Peter interrupts.

" _My mother_ ," Derek says, "had some concerns about my finances too."

"Uh, okay?" Stiles says, his head swiveling back and forth to look from Derek to Peter and back.

"She all but called you a gold digger," Peter says.

"Peter!" Derek snaps.

"And she wants you to sign a pre-nup," Peter continues. He gestures at the papers on the coffee table. Stiles looks at the papers, then to Peter, then to Derek.

"Alright," he says. "That's no issue."

"Excellent," Peter says.

"Wait," Derek says. "Don't you want to read it first? Or something?"

"Why?" Stiles asks. "Won't it just say that when we divorce we both walk away with the money we came in with? Isn't that how pre-nups work?"

"There's that," Peter says. "There's also some things in there about any potential lump sum payments you'd get in the event of a divorce. Also some things concerning alimony and child support and division of assets."

"Look, I don't really care about the money," Stiles says. "All I need to know is that the Hale family has enough of it to make Theo think that he has no chance in trying to get access to this baby."

"Well, once you're married to Derek he won't have any standing anyway," Peter says.

"I researched this thoroughly," Stiles says. "Once Derek officially becomes my alpha, I am basically his property in the eyes of the law. And that would include any offspring I produce, whether they're biologically his or not."

"Seriously?" Derek asks. He has to admit that he's never really looked into these kinds of laws. He's never really felt the need. He's pretty sure that's what Erica would call his 'alpha privilege'.

"Yep," Stiles says. "Theoretically, Theo could try to force the issue, but even then if you don't agree to turn over the baby Theo probably wouldn't be able to afford the legal battle. Which is a situation that would suck a lot if Theo were a different kind of person."

"Well, the Hale family has enough money to make Theo a non-issue," Derek says.

"You just can't have any of it, Stiles," Peter says.

"Whatever," Stiles says. "So if you're bringing all this up, does that mean you're agreeing to marry me?"

"Yeah," Derek says. "I am. I'll stay married to you as long as you need me to."

"Oh my god, thanks, Derek," Stiles says. Derek is startled to see tears filling Stiles' eyes. "I swear, you won't regret this. I'll do everything I can to make sure this won't fuck up your life at all. I'll never be able to repay you for this." Stiles wipes his face on his blanket and Derek has to again resist the urge to reach out to comfort him.

Soon, Stiles is able to compose himself and looks towards Peter with red-rimmed eyes. "Okay, where do I sign the pre-nup? Let's get this show on the road."

***

Stiles is adamant that he doesn't want a big traditional wedding.

"Just a courthouse thing is fine," he'd said when Derek had first asked him. "Save the big fancy party for when you get married for real. I don't want a lot of attention on this."

And so, the weekend after Stiles and Derek's meeting at Peter's, the Hale and Stilinski families all converge on the local courthouse.

It's a nice sunny day, perfect for a wedding. Derek finds that he's nervous as he climbs the courthouse steps. Sure, this isn't a _real_ wedding, in that it's not meant to actually last, but Derek is still going through a life-changing event. After all the proper papers are signed and Derek and Stiles officially and legally become a family, they'll both return to Derek's apartment where his friends are currently setting up a mini reception.

And then, after the party, Derek and Stiles will be alone to start their new life. Derek is under no illusion that theirs will be a traditional wedding night. Peter has spent the past couple of days making jokes, because he's terrible, but there will be no sexual activities of any kind. Instead, there will be two near-strangers trying to mesh their lives together.

Derek can only hope that everything will go smoothly.

"I still can't believe you're going through with this," Talia mutters, walking next to Derek. Derek, startled from his thoughts by his mother's voice, turns his head and frowns at her.

"Can't you at least pretend that you want to be here?" Derek hisses at her.

"You can't expect me to be okay with this farce," Talia says.

"Mom, if you do anything to ruin this, I swear to god--"

"Do _not_ try to threaten me, Derek Hale," Talia says. "I am your _mother_."

"Why are you two hissing over here like demented snakes?" Cora asks, popping up from somewhere behind them. "This is supposed to be a happy event. Lighten up."

"I hope for both your sakes that this doesn't blow up in all our faces," Talia says. She picks up the pace and gets ahead of the two of them, entering the courthouse first.

"I really don't know why she's being like this," Derek laments.

"I want to say that this is just some kind of misplaced worry because of what happened with Kate Argent," Cora says. "But Mom's always been kind of a bitch, so…"

"Cora!" Derek exclaims.

"It's true," Cora shrugs. "You just haven't realized because you've basically been her perfect angel baby for so long you've never had to deal with her being like this."

"Have you?" Derek asks, automatically lowering his voice as he steps through the courthouse doors.

"Loads of times," Cora says. "You think she was happy about me trying to TikTok in all 50 states? Or that time I tried to move to Argentina for a year? And don't even get me started on how she talks about Isaac."

"What's wrong with Isaac?" Derek asks.

"He's not Jordan, is what's wrong with him," Cora says. Jordan is the oldest Hale child Laura's husband, who is a gentle and easy-going omega who used to work reception at the sheriff's station before he married Laura a few years earlier. They've since had a child together that Jordan stays home and takes care of, which he seems perfectly happy doing. He's certainly an opposite to Cora's anxious and high-strung boyfriend Isaac, who is a lot more of an independent type who so far has not expressed any interest in having children or being a stay-at-home spouse.

"What's that have to do with anything?" Derek asks.

"I think you have to start facing the facts that Mom is kind of weird when it comes to omegas," Cora says. "I didn't really notice it myself until I started dating Isaac, but she really has some kind of bias. Honestly, you'll probably have to be careful with her around Stiles. Stiles has been through some shit, awful shit, and I don't think Mom really appreciates that. Or cares."

"I really don't know what to say about that," Derek says. His mind is whirling. He's always known that his mother can certainly be critical at times, but he'd never considered any kind of underlying prejudice.

"Don't worry too much about it right now," Cora says. "If you're preoccupied about this during your wedding, Stiles will think something's wrong. You both might as well enjoy the day. Or at least try to not make it more awkward than it already is."

***

***


	6. Chapter 6

The ceremony, if one can call it that, is much shorter than Stiles had been expecting.

Though in his defense, he's only seen weddings in TV shows and movies and none of them ever involved a courthouse.

His father had actually had a more 'traditional' wedding when he'd remarried Natalie Martin a few years earlier. But Stiles had missed that wedding. Because of Theo.

He pushes that thought from his mind.

He and Derek stand before the judge, surrounded by their families (John, Natalie, and Lydia for Stiles; Talia, Samuel, Laura, Jordan, their son, Cora, and Peter for Derek) and recite their vows and say their 'I do's'. Then they sign whatever they need to sign (Stiles notices Derek boggle at his actual name) and everything is over. The judge leaves, and everyone is quickly ushered out so that the space can be prepared for the next scheduled wedding. There hadn't even been a 'if anyone thinks these two should not be married' part, or even, luckily, a 'you may now kiss your omega' part.

There hadn't even been a part where they were asked to exchange rings. The sheriff hands Stiles and Derek the rings he'd been keeping in his pocket and they hurriedly jam them on their own fingers as they leave the room.

"Is that it?" Cora asks, leading the way out of the building.

"Weddings are apparently pretty cut and dry business without all the fanfare of a ceremony," Peter comments.

"Works fine for me," Stiles says. All he wants to do now is find somewhere quiet to relax. Now that he's legally tied to Derek, he's safe from Theo. He hadn't realized how much that had been weighing on him until now, when the weight has gone. There's still worry about the baby, of course, but there's really nothing Theo can do about that one way or the other until the baby's been born, which won't be for several months yet.

"There's still the reception if you really want to drag this out more," Derek tells Cora.

"At least the reception comes with couches and a TV," Cora says. "And food."

"Are you up for a party, Stiles?" the sheriff asks.

"Yeah, sure," Stiles says. And somehow this exchange is enough to get Derek's complete attention on him.

"Is something wrong?" he asks, eyebrows furrowed.

"No, it's fine," Stiles says. "Just tired. Comes with the pregnancy, unfortunately." That's not the complete reason, but Stiles is pretty sure that 'I just want everyone to go away now' would be a rude thing to say. Especially since they've all come out to his wedding. A wedding that's really only happening because of Derek's good graces.

"You can just nap during the party," Cora says. "Trust me, it's not gonna be a huge thing. Especially not in Derek's tiny apartment with his shitty neighbours."

"Leave my neighbours out of this," Derek sighs. Soon they're all back outside and drifting off to their respective vehicles. Stiles got a ride to the courthouse with his father, but he'll be getting back to the apartment with Derek and then staying the night. And then he'll be staying for the foreseeable future since all his meagre possessions have already been moved over.

Talia and Samuel head off in one direction and Stiles is pretty sure that this is the last he'll be seeing of them for a while. No one's said anything out loud in his presence, but he gets the feeling that the Hale parents aren't happy about this whole situation. A part of Stiles doesn't really blame them, but another part of Stiles resents them for looking down on the only solution he could come up with to keep him and his baby safe.

Peter disappears among the parked cars in the parking lot, as does Laura and her small family. The sheriff gives Stiles a hug and then heads to his cruiser, back to work. Natalie and Lydia depart without so much as a backward glance, clearly only here at all to support the sheriff. Cora follows Derek and Stiles to Derek's Camaro.

"Are there gonna be a lot of people there?" Stiles asks, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Just a few friends," Derek says.

"Remember the parties we used to go to in high school?" Cora asks, getting into the back seat. "This will be, like, a tiny fraction of those. No kegs."

"Plenty of food though," Derek says. He gets in behind the wheel and starts the car. Stiles sags in the passenger seat as Derek starts driving. He tunes out Derek and Cora's voices for the whole ride. There's a tentative feeling of hope rising in him that he's trying to quash. It's somewhat similar to what he felt back when he left town with Theo at 18. Back when he thought that meant that he'd be free to live his life as he chose without others trying to impose their restrictions on him.

That had turned out to be a complete disaster. He's hoping that Derek will turn out to be a much better partner than Theo ever was. There's no reason to suspect that Derek will suddenly turn on him, but Stiles hadn't expected that from Theo either.

***

Derek's apartment is in one of the newer buildings in town. So new that it hadn't even been there when Stiles left. It's a nice looking building in a fairly central area. Four stories and a lobby, nice brick on the outside, and an underground parking lot. Cora gets out and hurries off as soon as Derek parks in his designated space. Derek turns the car off and turns to Stiles.

"If you're really not up for this, no one'll mind if you skip it," Derek says. "It's just a few of my friends and some food."

"I'll be fine," Stiles says. "And I should probably be sociable with your friends anyway. Just to keep up appearances." Derek and Stiles had agreed to only tell Derek's friends half-truths about what's actually going on. They do know that Stiles' baby isn't Derek's, but they don't know that the marriage is only a ruse to get Stiles and the baby under Derek's protection (or ownership, in the eyes of the law). They all think that Derek and Stiles fell in love at first sight as soon as Stiles got back into town and decided to marry as soon as possible. It's not a completely farfetched story, especially for alpha and omega couples, and double especially when there's a baby involved. No need to mention anything about Theo or what he'd done to Stiles over the past five years.

Stiles doesn't like having to make Derek lie to his friends, who were even vaguely his own friends once upon a time, but Peter had chimed in to point out that the less anyone outside the immediate family knows, the better. Just in case everything goes sideways and the law gets involved.

"If you say so," Derek says, giving Stiles a searching look. "Just let me know when you've had enough. They all know you're pregnant. They'll get it if you say you need a rest, or something." Stiles gives Derek a small smile and climbs out of the car. There's so many little ways that Derek is so different from Theo, and it gives Stiles some reassurance that, if nothing else, he'll be safe here.

***

A half-hour into the party, Stiles has had enough.

Catching up with old high-school buddies had been nice for the first couple of minutes. Fun, even. But all this plus the wedding has been the most social stimulation that Stiles has had in years and he's quickly approaching his limit.

It doesn't help that Derek's friends, as well-meaning as they are, keep asking Stiles questions about what he's been up to all these years. Stiles keeps trying to deflect and give vague answers, but they can be pretty persistent.

Though that's mostly Erica, who has apparently really come out of her shell since high school. Boyd, Derek's best friend and now Erica's husband, is still as quiet and stoic as ever, which serves Stiles just fine. Isaac is about the same as Stiles remembers, though he doesn't seem to want to demand any information from Stiles. Though he's probably heard all he needs to from Cora at this point. Kira is sweet and bubbly, but doesn’t seem to be able to pick up on Stiles' discomfort in her excitement of seeing him again. She's no longer dating Scott (she wouldn't have been invited if she was), but instead she's with Derek's cousin Malia, who is mostly content to ignore Stiles in favour of stuffing her face.

"So have you thought of any names for the baby yet?" Kira asks suddenly. She's sitting next to Stiles on Derek's couch, only just managing to not be all up in his face. Erica is on Stiles' other side.

"Um, no," Stiles says, shifting awkwardly. "Not yet. It's still pretty early." Truthfully, he hasn't been thinking much about what would happen after the baby is born. He's been avoiding imagining what it would look like, what he would name it, what kind of clothes he'd have to buy, or the price of diapers. He hadn't wanted to get too attached, in case he'd have to take drastic measures to ensure there would be no baby.

Even now he's still avoiding thinking about any of those things because it still hasn't fully sunken in yet that he's safe. The baby is safe. Legally, the baby is Derek's. It has a chance now.

"I've had names picked out for my future babies since I was, like, 10," Kira gushes. "I can't wait 'til I can actually use them." Stiles just smiles and nods. Maybe if this were a normal situation and he hadn't just been through years of shit, he could be enjoying this kind of back and forth. As it is, baby names seem kind of frivolous compared to everything else he has to worry about.

"Just name it after Derek," Malia suddenly says. She's leaning against the back of the couch behind Kira, chewing on a slice of pizza. "Even if it's not really his kid, he'd probably appreciate it."

"Malia!" Cora snaps from somewhere nearby.

"It _is_ Derek's kid," Stiles says, breathing starting to go shallow. "We're married now. Derek's its alpha."

"You know what I mean," Malia says.

"Okay, I think Stiles needs a break now," Derek breaks in. Suddenly appearing from off to the side and extending a hand to Stiles to help him up.

"Already being the overprotective alpha?" Erica asks with a laugh.

"Don't want to make him regret marrying me on the first day," Derek says, smiling briefly. Stiles accepts Derek's hand and lets him pull him to his feet. Derek starts leading him out of the living room, to a chorus of 'see you later's, and in the direction of the bedrooms. Derek stops at the doorway of the guest room, where Stiles will be living, but Stiles pushes him forward.

"Your room," he whispers. "They'll think it's weird if I'm not staying with you. Like, _with_ you."

"Right," Derek says. He continues on, still leading Stiles by the hand. Derek's room is neat and tidy, a big change from what it looked like earlier in the week when Derek had showed Stiles and John the apartment for the first time. The sheriff's unimpressed face had made Derek blush a bright red under the scruff of his beard, which had made him surprisingly cute. The memory makes Stiles smile, and so does the fact that Derek had obviously made the effort to keep the room clean since then, even though Stiles won't actually be spending much time in it.

"Looks nice," Stiles says. He's delighted when Derek blushes faintly.

"Yeah, yeah," Derek says. "Feel free to hang around in here as long as you want. The TV in here doesn't get cable, but it's hooked up to Netflix so knock yourself out."

"Ooh, I will," Stiles says. Derek nods and squeezes Stiles' hand once before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind himself. Left alone in the room, for the first time all day, Stiles almost doesn't know what to do with himself. He debates poking around, to see if he can find out anything else about who Derek's become in the years since Stiles last saw him, but doesn't want to return Derek's massive amounts of generosity and selflessness by breaching his privacy. Especially on the first day.

In the end, he settles back on Derek's neatly made bed and turns his attention to the TV. Derek's Netflix account has multiple profiles for other members of the Hale family, but Stiles just sticks with Derek's. He scrolls through his options before settling on something that looks like a nature documentary.

Not the most interesting thing Netflix has to offer, but Stiles is pretty sure that he won't actually be watching much of it anyway.

He settles on his side with his hand next to his face on the pillow. The unfamiliar gold band on his ring finger gleams in the light and Stiles is transfixed.

***

Stiles is snapped awake by his cellphone ringing.

He's a bit disoriented and panics a bit until he realizes that his unfamiliar surroundings are actually Derek's bedroom. He knows where he is. And he's safe.

His phone is still ringing.

Caller ID shows Scott McCall.

Stiles stares at it until the ringing stops.

It'll ring again in a few minutes. Stiles knows this because this happens every couple of days. Scott will call once (Stiles still isn't entirely sure how he even got his new number; he suspects Lydia had something to do with it but he's been too scared to ask), Stiles won't answer, and then Scott will call a second time, which Stiles also won't answer.

Stiles doesn't want to talk to Scott, and he's not entirely sure why he just doesn't block the number. He's pretty sure that Scott is just trying to apologize for what happened with Theo, but Stiles isn't sure that he wants to hear it. Not right now. Scott's betrayal isn't something that can be solved with just an apology.

The phone starts ringing again.

This time Stiles answers the call almost without thinking. Maybe it's really time to end this. He has a new life with Derek now, for however long it lasts; he doesn’t want to devote too much time and energy to Scott.

"Stiles?" Scott asks, sounding about as surprised as Stiles feels.

"Hi, Scott," Stiles says.

"You actually answered," Scott says.

"Yeah. What do you want?"

"Stiles, I've been trying to get a hold of you all this time to apologize for what happened back there and--"

"And you didn't think that I didn't want to hear from you?" Stiles asks. "Even an apology?"

"I mean…" Scott says. "No?"

"Of course," Stiles says. "Well, I don't want your apology."

"Stiles--"

"You can take your apology and shove it."

"I just want to make things up to you."

"You can't, Scott. There's really no coming back from what happened. Not for me. I needed help, and you kept me from it."

"That's not what I was trying to do, Stiles. I really thought--"

"I don't care what you really thought," Stiles says. Tears burn the backs of his eyes and his throat aches. "Literally all you had to do was help me get home. You knew I was in trouble and then you basically kicked me when I was down."

"Stiles, I'm sorry!"

"It's too late for that. Don't call me again."

Stiles ends the call and blocks Scott's number before he can talk himself out of it. Then he deletes all the unread texts Scott has sent him over the past couple of weeks.

It doesn't make him feel any better.

There's a knock on the bedroom door and then it opens, revealing Derek.

"Everything okay?" he asks. Stiles feels his face heat. Had everyone heard him?

"Yeah," Stiles says. "Just… taking care of something I should've done before now."

"Alright," Derek says. "Well, everyone's gone except for Cora and Isaac. There's still some pizza left if you're hungry."

"I could eat," Stiles says.

***

***


	7. Chapter 7

Derek and Stiles have been married for nearly two weeks and Derek is concerned.

Back in high school, Stiles had been well-known for being loud, obnoxious, and lively. Oftentimes, you'd know he was nearby just by hearing him. He'd never been one to stand off to the side, no matter how much it annoyed anyone. If omegas were supposed to be traditionally meek, quiet, and well-behaved, Stiles seemed to make it a point to be the exact opposite of that.

The fact that present-day Stiles seems to have completely changed his tune on the matter worries Derek.

He doesn't notice it right away, but a feeling of wrongness settles over the apartment starting a few days after the wedding. It has everything to do with Stiles' behaviours. Not that Stiles is actually doing anything wrong. It's just that he isn't acting the way Derek had been expecting him to.

If Derek had ever imagined what Stiles would be like as a roommate, it would never have been this quiet, skittish, waif that Derek sometimes sees passing by a doorway. Stiles mostly keeps to his room when Derek is home, and Derek always figured that Stiles just used the apartment normally when Derek was at work.

Now Derek is starting to think that Stiles just confines himself to his room as much as possible, and when he uses the common areas he cleans the hell out of them when he's done. Derek's apartment has never been so clean, and it spooks him a bit once he realizes it. Because that must mean that Stiles is just constantly cleaning, but Derek isn't sure why because he certainly didn't ask him to be his live-in housekeeper.

Soon it becomes apparent that Stiles doesn't leave the apartment at all unless Derek's with him. And Derek only catches on to that one day when the sheriff calls him up asking why he's keeping Stiles chained to the home.

"What!?" Derek exclaims, retreating to a corner of the breakroom at the library, away from where some of his co-workers are eating lunch. "I'm not keeping him chained anywhere!"

"I don't mean literally, kid," the sheriff says. "But I keep trying to get Stiles to come out for a visit, and he keeps putting me off. And I've asked around and no one's even seen him around town anywhere. Except that apparently Kira saw you two grocery shopping the other day."

"I…" Derek says. "I never told him that he had to stay in the house all the time. He's free to do whatever he wants with his free time."

"Do you think he knows that?" the sheriff asks.

"Why wouldn't he?" Derek asks.

"Well, I don't know all the details," the sheriff says. "But the fact that we had to get him away from his ex like we were planning a prison break should probably tell us something. I would bet good money that he didn't have much freedom when he was with Theo."

"Shit," Derek says. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'll talk to him. But really, if you want to see him you can just go by the apartment."

"I have," the sheriff says. "He won't answer the door. Even when I called to say it was me."

"Wow, okay," Derek says. "That's… I will definitely talk to him."

"Maybe this all wasn't such a good idea," the sheriff says. "If he's still this turned around by whatever he's been through the past few years, maybe--"

"No," Derek says. "I just need to step up. Just because this isn't--" he darts a quick look around to make sure no one is paying him any attention "-- a real relationship doesn't mean I shouldn't be looking out for him. Even as his temporary alpha, I should still be taking care of him." The sheriff is silent for a minute. Derek starts growing a bit nervous, thinking that he's said something wrong.

"You're a good kid, Hale," the sheriff says gruffly. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Please talk to Stiles and tell him I'd really love to see him. It's really not the same over the phone and we really do have a lot of catching up to do."

"I'll tell him," Derek promises.

***

The apartment is quiet when Derek gets home from work. If Stiles' shoes weren't sitting by the door, he'd think there was no one else home. But he knows Stiles is here. Because Stiles apparently doesn't go anywhere.

"Stiles?" Derek calls out, taking off his shoes.

"Yeah?" Stiles asks, appearing out of the hallway. "What's up?"

"I think we need to talk," Derek says. Immediately, distressed pheromones fill the room and Derek swears internally.

"Did I do something wrong?" Stiles asks nervously.

"What?" Derek asks. "No. You didn’t do anything."

"Then what's there to talk about?" Stiles asks.

"I don't think we ever sat down to discuss what living with each other would look like," Derek says. He walks into the living room and sits down on the couch, trying to look casual. "We probably should've hashed out some kind of roommate agreement, or something."

"Is this about me not carrying my weight around here?" Stiles asks. "Because I clean as much as I can while you're out. Should I start cooking too? I would've before, but I'm not that great at it."

"I don't want you to cook for me, Stiles," Derek says. "Can you just come out here? I feel stupid trying to talk to you over my shoulder like this." Stiles scurries into the room and walks around to sit on the couch next to Derek. He fidgets nervously and Derek resists the urge to put a calming hand on him.

"Sorry," Stiles mutters. "I'm trying my best."

"I know," Derek sighs. "You don't have to, you know? I didn't marry you to gain a housekeeper. This is as much your apartment as it is mine while we're together. You do whatever you want in it. Clean, don't clean, I don't care."

"I figure it's the least I could do," Stiles says.

"I do appreciate the help," Derek says. "But you don't _need_ to do it. I was talking to your dad earlier, and he was saying that he hasn't seen you in a while. You know you can go visit him, right?"

"I know," Stiles says.

"And you can let him in if he comes over here," Derek says. "I don't want to keep you two apart." Stiles just nods. "So have you really not gone out at all? Aside from shopping with me?" Stiles shakes his head. "Why?"

"I don't want to go out alone," Stiles mumbles.

"Why not?" Derek asks. "I figured that's the first thing you'd start doing now that you don't have a jailer anymore."

"What if he's out there though?" Stiles asks, not looking at Derek. "I haven't heard anything from Theo, but he's not stupid. He knows the only place I'd go if I ever got away from him is Beacon Hills."

Well, shit, Derek hadn't even considered that.

"Okay, that could be a problem," Derek says. "But we can work on that. Theo has no claim to you now that you're married to me. Even if he does show up here to try anything, we can just sic your dad on him." That gets a smile out of Stiles. "In the meantime, though, you don't have to stay in this apartment all the time. You don't have to stay in your room all the time either. We might as well at least be friends while we're living together. We _are_ married, after all."

"I suppose it wouldn't kill me to get along more with my husband," Stiles muses.

"That's the spirit," Derek says. "We can start tonight. I'll order in for supper and you pick a movie to watch."

"Sounds great," Stiles says.

***

***


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bonus chapter for today because the other one was pretty short and I already had this one ready

Stiles' belly is starting to round out.

His first instinct is to hide it. Which is stupid because the only people he's in regular contact with are his father and Derek, who are both well aware that he's pregnant. Getting bigger is literally what he's supposed to be doing right now.

Still. He's anxious about it and not sure why.

He's going to need new clothes.

He has the money. Now that he's back in Beacon Hills, where omegas can actually manage their own finances without constantly having an alpha vouch for them, Cora has transferred Stiles' secret bank account from her name to his. He's not rich by any means, if he were living alone right now he'd be barely scraping by, but he's got enough to get a start on a new wardrobe. And even if he didn't have the money, he's sure Derek would be willing to help out.

So the money isn't the problem there. The prospect of leaving the apartment alone is the issue. He's been back in Beacon Hills for going on two months now, and he hasn't heard from nor seen Theo. Stiles doesn't even have any proof that Theo is looking for him, though he'd be stupid to not consider that a possibility at all. At least if Theo does show up and… kidnap him, or something, as Derek's omega Theo wouldn't have any sort of claim on him. As soon as the police caught up with them, Theo would be thrown in jail and Stiles would be immediately returned to Derek.

A happy ending, but Stiles would rather avoid the whole mess altogether.

If he never sees Theo again it'll be too soon.

***

Things have been going better in the apartment lately, now that Stiles isn't making things awkward by shutting himself away in his room like a weird parody of a slave. He's been spending most of the evenings with Derek, usually eating and watching TV shows or movies. He slowly feels like they might be getting back to where they were as teenagers: sort of friends.

Stiles is enjoying getting to know this older Derek, and it's doing a lot to reassure him that he hadn't made a wrong choice in marrying him. Derek is a pretty good guy. Surprisingly gentle, easy-going, and a bit silly at times; which one wouldn't expect just by looking at him. Even back in high school Derek was a big guy, all muscles and broad shoulders and strong features. He started growing a beard early on in high school and that just added to his 'tough guy alpha' image. Though scratch the surface a bit and you find there's more to him.

Stiles remembers the moment where he first developed a crush on Derek: one of his first days as a freshman, Stiles had gotten lost in the unfamiliar high school building. Luckily, he'd come across Derek, who'd been nice enough to get him where he needed to go. Stiles knew Derek through Cora, and always just thought of him as 'Cora's hot older brother'. And then Derek had led Stiles to his class and left him there with a parting smile, showing off unexpectedly cute bunny teeth that had Stiles melting a little on the inside.

His feelings for Derek had fluctuated ever since.

These days, Stiles isn't particularly interested in a relationship with an alpha. He doesn't feel ready. He's still attracted to Derek (who wouldn't be?), but he's afraid to act on it. Mostly because of what he's been through, but also partly because he's pretty sure that Derek is in no way interested in him. Why would someone like Derek, who could get any omega he wanted, be interested in an awkward used-up disaster like Stiles, who's pregnant with another alpha's baby on top of that?

***

Stiles approaches Derek on a Friday evening as soon as he gets home from work.

"Hey, Stiles," Derek greets. "Did your dad come by for those folding chairs?"

"No," Stiles answers. "He called saying he couldn't make it today. Some idiot throwing rocks off an overpass leading out of town caused some shit. He couldn't get away."

"Why the hell would someone do that?" Derek asks.

"Let me emphasize: _some idiot_ ," Stiles says. Derek makes a noise and heads in the direction of the bedrooms; Stiles knows he's on his way to change out of his work clothes like he does every day. He takes a deep breath and calls out before he can lose his nerve. "Hey, Derek."

"Hm?" Derek asks, stopping and turning a bit to face Stiles.

"Could you take me to the mall tomorrow?" Stiles asks. He's pretty sure it comes out too fast, because Derek looks at him in obvious confusion for a full minute before his face clears.

"Did you say the mall?" he asks.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "I, ah, I need some new clothes."

"Okay, we can go tomorrow afternoon," Derek says. "Unless you want to go earlier?"

"Tomorrow afternoon is totally fine," Stiles says, nodding quickly. "Thanks so much."

"It's really no big deal," Derek says. He continues to his bedroom and Stiles escapes to the kitchen. He really hates that he's still afraid to go out without Derek. Beacon Hills is his home town. He literally grew up on these streets. Even as an omega in a world dominated by alphas (whether people like to think of that way or not), he's never felt unsafe here. He used to go out and romp around in the _woods_. Which was generally unsafe for people in general but, hell, everyone else was doing it, why shouldn't he? And now here he is, afraid to even wander around the apartment building he lives in, never mind the town itself.

He really needs to get over this quickly. Derek won't be around forever. No matter how much of a good guy he is, he won't always be around to hold Stiles' hand. Stiles has a baby coming, and he's certainly not expecting Derek to take on a parenting role. They never agreed to that. He needs to learn to stand on his own two feet and at least find the courage to walk around his childhood town by himself.

***

Beacon Hills' tiny mall isn't overly busy, even on a Saturday afternoon, but Stiles still sticks close to Derek all the same. Derek doesn't at all mention Stiles' death-grip on his hand, which Stiles will be forever thankful for. He also doesn't mention Stiles' obvious scrutiny of every passing face, searching for Theo in the sparse crowd.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" Derek asks. "We just passed Urban Outfitters. They sell clothes." The statement sounds almost like a question and Stiles snorts. Derek's wardrobe is all business casual, tight jeans, sweat pants, and plain long and short sleeve tees. He looks good in them, but Stiles is pretty sure he just goes into any Walmart or Target and grabs whatever's there in his size.

"I need maternity clothes," Stiles says. He points to a sign above a far-off store entrance with his free hand. "Omega Basics. Has a full section of maternity for male and female omegas."

"Huh," Derek says. And then, "Oh!"

"Don't get too excited, I'm not showing that much yet," Stiles says, feeling his cheeks heat.

"But it's starting," Derek says. "Are you excited? I remember Laura and Jordan when Jordan was pregnant. They were almost unbearable when Jordan started showing. Cora blocked them over text until they started calming down."

"I don't know if I can feel excited," Stiles admits. Someone passes by them too closely - even though there's _plenty_ of space - and Stiles cowers against Derek's side. Derek lets go of Stiles' hand in favour of wrapping an arm around his waist. Stiles' cheeks heat.

"I'm sure it'll come," Derek says. Stiles just nods. They walk the rest of the way to Omega Basics in silence. Derek seems a bit lost once they enter the store and Stiles wagers that he's never been in it. Though he'd have no reason to be so it makes sense.

"This way," Stiles says, pointing. The clothing section takes up the entire length of the back of the store, with the maternity clothes front and center.

"This is... a lot of options," Derek says, eyes wide.

"Oh yeah," Stiles says brightly. "Now that more omegas are actually getting into the industry - in most places – pregnant omegas no longer have to decide between 'shapeless potato sack chic' or 'shapeless potato sack with frills and flower patterns'. Do you know that they only started giving the option for pants shortly before we were even born?"

"I'd never thought about it, to be honest," Derek says, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Neither did I until I was a teenager," Stiles says. He leads Derek over to a rack of stretch jeans and starts rummaging through them. Derek actually seems fairly content to wander quietly behind Stiles as he shops. Stiles wishes he had the courage to do this alone so Derek wouldn't be stuck watching him pick out clothes, but he's also thankful for his presence.

A few racks later, Stiles' day takes a turn. And not a good one.

"Stiles?" Stiles looks up from a rack of nursing bras, wondering if he'll even need one (male omegas' breasts tend to be unpredictable during pregnancy, Stiles has no idea what his are going to do), to see Scott standing in the aisle just outside the clothing section. Stiles' immediate reaction is to freeze at the sight of him. His second reaction is for his heart to start trying to beat itself out of his chest.

"Hey, Scott," Derek says from behind Stiles. Stiles can feel Derek's eyes on him, sure that he's picking up the panicked pheromones he's letting out. Stiles hasn't seen Scott since the hotel incident, and hasn't spoken to him since the day he married Derek. He wracks his brain, trying to remember if anyone would have told Scott about the baby. He didn't, but that doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't have let it slip. Stiles isn't sure who Scott is actually in contact with these days.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asks, voice shaking. His hands are also shaking. Great.

"My mom asked me to get her something," Scott says. "I'm in town for the week and this is on the way to her place." Derek is definitely picking up on Stiles' distress because he's now crowding against his back.

"So you're just getting in now?" Derek asks. Stiles is practically squeezing the life out of the bra he's holding, and he doesn't stop until Derek wrestles it from his hold. "Probably shouldn't try to destroy the merchandise unless you're actually going to buy it."

"Are you..." Scott starts, eyes widening.

"It's none of your business, Scott!" Stiles snaps, finally finding some courage even though now his whole body is shaking like a leaf. "If I don't want you to ever call me again, what makes you think I'd want to talk to you in person?"

"Stiles, I just--"

"Maybe you should leave, Scott," Derek says, voice like steel. "Go get what you came for. Stiles, there's a bench over there. Let's go sit for a bit." Derek loops an arm around Stiles' waist in a gentle grip and starts leading him deeper into the clothing sections, away from Scott. Stiles might love him a bit for it. Or he would, if he weren't focusing so much on putting one foot in front of the other. He all but collapses on the bench once they reach it, immediately curling in on himself, staring down at the ugly carpeting between his feet. Derek kneels on the floor in front of him, large hands on Stiles' knees.

"Stiles," he says softly. Tears are streaming down Stiles' cheeks and he feels so pathetic. Feeling threatened by _Scott_ of all people. Though, he supposes he does have a reason for it, doesn't he? But still. What the hell is Scott going to do to him in a store?

The same things Stiles is afraid of Theo doing? Stiles shudders.

"I'm sorry," he heaves out.

"You don't have to apologize," Derek says.

"Is everything okay over here?" Stiles raises his head far enough to see a female omega standing off to one side, frowning at the two of them. She's wearing a vest and a nametag; a store employee then.

"Sort of?" Derek tells her with a wince. "Do you want to go home, or do you want to keep shopping? Stiles?"

"Go home," Stiles mumbles. He doesn't want to be out in public anymore. If Scott is back in town, does that mean Theo is too? Are they even still in contact? Stiles doesn't even know if Scott suffered any sort of repercussions after what he did. He'd been too afraid to ask anyone.

"Alright," Derek says. "Are you getting these?" Stiles' eyes pass over the wrinkled nursing bra in Derek's hand, then to the two shirts, pair of jeans, and sweatpants on the bench next to him. Nowhere near enough for a full wardrobe, but he can always come back another day. Or just shop online.

Stiles nods to answer Derek's question and Derek gathers up the clothes as Stiles struggles to his feet. He hadn't quite had a full-blown panic attack, but the whole episode has been enough to sap some major energy from him. The store employee follows the two of them back to the registers. Stiles would be annoyed, but if there really were something wrong he'd be grateful for her vigilance.

Stiles pays for his clothes, shooting Derek a tired glare when he reaches for his own wallet. He ignores the cashier's sympathetic look and takes the now bagged clothes and receipt. He lets Derek throw an arm around his shoulders and cuddle him into his side as they walk back through the mall because, dammit, he deserves some kind of comfort at the moment.

He can be a strong, independent omega later. Once he's recovered from it having been practically beaten out of him.

***

***


	9. Chapter 9

Derek watches Stiles' closed bedroom door worriedly. Stiles'd immediately shut himself up inside as soon as they returned from the mall earlier and Derek hasn't seen or heard from him since.

It's been hours now.

Derek goes into the kitchen and starts contemplating dinner options. He's no chef (maybe a few steps above Stiles' abilities, which aren't... great), but he's sure he can whip up something decently healthy. Maybe he should do some research about nutritional requirements for pregnant omegas. Stiles should probably be eating better than he is.

He keeps an ear out as he throws together a simple risotto. Stiles' room is as silent now as it has been for the past couple of hours. Derek hopes it's because he's asleep in there, and not because he's worrying himself sick over whether or not he thinks Theo is planning to come for him.

Derek had thought this marriage was supposed to help Stiles with those fears. He hates to think of what Stiles would be like right now without the protection of being Derek's omega. He frowns at the thought.

If anyone had ever told them that the outgoing and lively Stiles Stilinski from high school would grow up to be this anxious near shell of a person, he'd never  have  believed them.

He briefly wonders if his family would bail him out of jail if he tracked down Theo himself and beat the shit out of him. Peter might. Cora would be his next best option, but she'd be in the cell next to him.

He's broken out of his daze of stirring rice and imagining beating Theo to a pulp by knocking at the door. He quickly darts over and looks through the peephole. The sheriff is standing in the hallway, looking agitated. Derek throws the door open.

"Hi, come in," Derek says. "I have to get back to the stove, I've got a thing on. Is something wrong?"

"Where's Stiles?" The sheriff asks.

"In his room," Derek says. He pours chicken stock into the skillet with the rice. "Asleep, I think. He's been in there all afternoon."

"I got a call from Melissa McCall not long ago," the sheriff says, dropping into a chair at the kitchen table.

"Ah," Derek says. "About what happened at the mall?"

"Yeah," the sheriff says. "Also to apologize for not thinking to warn me that Scott was coming back to town. Though I guess, to be fair, we haven't really been on speaking terms lately." Derek shoots him a confused look over his shoulder. The sheriff sighs and wipes a hand down his face. Derek turns his attention back to the risotto.

"Did something happen between Stiles and Scott?" he asks. "Stiles' reaction to seeing him today was... not great." The sheriff snorts.

"What did Stiles tell you about how he got away from Theo?" he asks.

"He said he tried it twice," Derek says. "The first time I guess Cora organized a group of friends to basically try to relay-race him across the country. But that failed because someone gave away his location to Theo. Then once he found out he was pregnant he contacted Cora and she personally hand-delivered him to you."

"That's pretty much the bare bones of how it went down," the sheriff says. "So I guess he never told you that the person who turned him in to Theo was Scott."

"What!?" Derek whirls around, losing his grip on his stirring spoon and accidentally fling ing it across the kitchen. It bounces off one of the cupboard doors with a loud 'thunk' and then hits the floor, leaving bits of wet rice on both surfaces.

Both alphas freeze, but still no sounds come from Stiles' room. The sheriff gets up from the table and retrieves the spoon, rinsing it off before handing it back to Derek. Then he grabs some paper towel to start wiping away the rice.

"Yeah," he says, not looking at Derek. "That was basically my reaction. Ask Natalie about it and she'll tell you I hit the roof." Derek starts stirring the rice again, staring into the skillet without seeing it.

"How could he do something like that?" He asks. "Weren't they best friends in high school? Even if they'd grown apart over the course of--" Derek makes a wild hand gesture "-- _everything_ , I can't imagine that that would be enough to make Scott turn on Stiles like that."

"I can't even begin to guess at Scott's motives," the sheriff says tiredly. "And frankly, I couldn't give less of a shit about them. Fact is he put my son in very real danger, and I can't get over that. Melissa tried to make excuses for him. I don't think she wants to believe he's the type of person to do something like this, even though he clearly is. He's done some bone-headed things over the years, but this one really takes the cake."

"This is on an entirely different level," Derek says. "Do you think he'll do it again? Is he still in contact with Theo?"

"No idea," the sheriff says. "I wish I could tell you that he's seen the error of his ways and isn't a danger to Stiles. He and Stiles grew up together. That boy was almost like a second son to me. I don't want to believe that this is the kind of person he is now. But he did what he did and this is where we are now."

"Does him maybe knowing if Stiles is pregnant change anything?" Derek asks.

"Kid, I can't even tell you if that makes it better or worse," the sheriff says.

***

When Derek finally gets the nerve to go into Stiles' room to see if he's awake, he finds him asleep on the bed, curled up around a pillow. His breathing is deep and even in sleep and Derek is loathe to wake him up. But he should probably eat something. And he'd probably enjoy a visit with his dad.

"Stiles," Derek calls out. He doesn't want to startle Stiles awake, but of course that's what ends up happening. Stiles seems to snap immediately to full wakefulness, which Derek can tell just by looking because he stiffens all over.

"Stiles, it's me," Derek says. "I made supper if you want some. And your dad's here."

"My dad's here?" Stiles asks, voice scratchy. Derek approaches the bed and turns on the bedside lamp. Stiles' face looks puffy and red in the lamplight and Derek holds in a wince. He wouldn't be surprised if Stiles had cried himself to sleep. His heart gives a painful lurch, and he wants to kick himself for not noticing earlier when he'd have had the chance to do something about it.

Would Stiles have even let him do something about it?

"Yeah," Derek says. "I invited him to stay for supper. I made risotto."

"Did you burn anything in it this time?" Stiles asks, echo of a familiar sarcasm in his voice under all the weariness.

"Did you hear the smoke alarm go off?" Derek asks dryly. "And don't act like you haven't burned a literal cup noodle to death before."

"I admit to nothing," Stiles says. He follows Derek out of the room and then veers off into the bathroom. Derek continues to the kitchen, confident that Stiles will be joining him eventually.

"He'll be right out," he says to the sheriff. Sure enough, Stiles soon shuffles into the kitchen. He looks even more washed-out in the bright kitchen light and Derek can't help but grimace. Luckily, Stiles doesn't seem to notice.

"You look rough," the sheriff comments, watching Stiles as he drops into a chair at the table.

"You can't tell me things like that, I'm pregnant," Stiles says, knuckling at his eyes.

"I'd say you were glowing, but only because you're so pale," the sheriff says. Stiles snorts. "Seriously, though. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Stiles says. "Was just shaken up a bit earlier. Saw Scott at the mall." Derek starts dishing out the risotto and passing it out. Stiles mutters a quiet thanks when a plate is set in front of him.

"That would do it, I guess," the sheriff says. "Did he say anything to you?"

"Not really," Stiles says. "And Derek was there so it was fine. He couldn't do anything to me." The sheriff gives Derek a slight nod when Stiles isn't looking. Derek returns it.

They eat in silence for the next few minutes, though Stiles mostly just picks at his food . Derek encourages him to eat more, but it seems like he really isn't feeling it. It isn't long before he gets up from the table, but he goes to the living room instead of his bedroom. The sheriff gets up to join him a minute later and soon Derek can hear the murmur of their voices as they talk quietly.

***

"So," Derek says, once the sheriff is gone and he and Stiles are settled in the living room for their regular movie night. "Scott. Your dad told me what he did to you." Stiles, curled up on one half the couch and wrapped in a blanket, nods. His head is resting next to Derek's thigh and Derek can't help but place, what he hopes is, a comforting hand to the back of it.

Stiles had seemed to welcome some physical comforting earlier today at the mall. Derek isn't totally sure if it would be welcome now that they're in private. But Stiles doesn't push Derek's hand away. In fact, he actually pushes _into_ the touch a bit. Derek's thumb starts sweeping back and forth through Stiles' hair.

"Of all the ways I thought the escape could go wrong," Stiles says, "I wasn't expecting any of it to come from Scott."

"Did he even say why he did it?" Derek asks.

"He had a whole speech," Stiles says bitterly. "I think Theo managed to get a hold of him at some point and fed him some bullshit. There was something in there about not throwing away true love over some misunderstandings and that everyone deserves a second chance. Honestly I think I just mentally checked out at some point. I don't remember a whole lot of specifics."

"This was after Theo put you in the hospital, right?" Derek asks, anger starting to burn a pit in his stomach. "What's there to misunderstand about that?"

"I don't know," Stiles says, sniffling. "I don't know what Scott knew when. I don't know exactly what Theo told him. But I know what _I_ told him. So I know that he compared Theo's story to mine, and believed Theo over me."

"That's disgusting," Derek says.

"Maybe Theo just appealed to Scott's alpha nature," Stiles says. "I'm sure it would be easier for Scott to put himself in Theo's shoes than in mine. And I don't think Scott has ever had any problems with Theo, so in his mind it probably wouldn't make sense that I would." Derek just shakes his head. He doesn't think he'll ever understand. Even not considering the secondary genders, why would anyone just leave a helpless person with someone they feel threatened by? And most likely an injured person as well because, if Derek's remembers correctly, this would've happened soon after Stiles was released from the hospital.

And on top of that, who the hell would choose to believe anyone over their best friend? Even if Stiles had been lying through his teeth about why he needed to get away, what right was it of Scott's to decide that he knew better? Why have more apparent loyalty to Theo than Stiles?

"He had no reason to think you were pregnant at the time, did he?" Derek asks. Stiles doesn't answer. "Stiles?" Derek looks down and has to lean forward to get a good look at Stiles' face. He's asleep. Derek sighs and settles back into the couch to continue watching the movie. Stiles has seen this one before, so he doesn't bother turning it off.

He doesn't actually take anything in, though. His thoughts too busy whirling as he tries to unravel the mystery of how someone could betray a loved one so completely. And why.

***

***


	10. Chapter 10

Scott had said he'd be in town for a week.

Stiles doesn't even think about leaving the apartment for that amount of time. When the week is over, he makes his father confirm with Melissa that Scott is gone, back to the small vet clinic he works at in New Mexico, where he now lives.

It just barely helps. Stiles seems to be back to square one in terms of feeling safe being out in public.

He hates it.

***

Stiles needs to find an obstetrician. And it has to be an obstetrician who is willing to deal with all of Stiles' hang-ups.

Beacon Hills Memorial employees two of them. One of them is an alpha and the other is a beta. Stiles chooses the latter and makes an appointment, hoping that things will go smoothly all around. This is the first time he actually does anything with his new name. For however long this whole thing lasts, he's Stiles Hale, and he can barely comprehend how unsettling it is to have a new identity for the first time at the age of 23.

He debates whether he should ask Derek to go with him. Obviously he'll need someone to take him to the hospital, otherwise he'll probably go completely nuts alone in public and imagine Theo lurking around every corner.

But this is an OB appointment to discuss his baby. Legally Derek's baby too, but maybe not in reality. Derek has never offered to be Stiles' baby's alpha in any other way than on paper. Stiles doesn't want to make him uncomfortable by asking him to be any more involved in this process than he has to be.

Also, Stiles wants to start getting used to having to navigate this part of his life alone. He doesn't want to get used to Derek being there, only for him to just leave once all the legal matters are squared away. Derek didn't sign up for a lifetime commitment here, never mind everything else fatherhood entails.

Derek can walk away from this situation free and clear, and Stiles won't stop him if that's what he wants.

He barely entertains the idea of Derek actually wanting to stick around, because why would he? Derek doesn't need to be tied down by a baby, especially when there's no real relationship with the parent. By the time Derek and Stiles get divorced, Derek will have fulfilled all his obligations and he'll be free to live his life as he pleases.

The thought of it makes something cold spread in Stiles' chest, but there's really nothing he can do about reality.

***

Of course, Stiles waits until the last minute to let Derek know about the appointment.

"I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow!" He practically yells it at Derek the second he walks through the door after work. Derek literally jumps in surprise when he does it, so possibly he's said it too loud.

"What!?" Derek exclaims. He releases some distressed pheromones that have Stiles approaching him before he can stop himself. He pats at Derek's arm and helps him out of his jacket.

"Sorry," Stiles says. "I should've maybe toned it down a bit."

"Honestly," Derek says, starting to smile a bit now that the danger has proved to be non-existent. "It's fine."

"Okay..." Stiles says, eyeing him.

"Doctor's appointment? You were saying?" Derek asks. Stiles backs away to let Derek remove his shoes, throw his backpack on the floor, and actually enter the apartment.

"I finally got an OB appointment for myself," Stiles says. "I should've gotten one set up way before now, so I bet I'll be getting some shit for that. But it's happening. Tomorrow. Like I said. Why are you smiling like that?"

"I'm not smiling," Derek says, grinning. "So tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Stiles says. "So I wanted to ask you about that. About if you wanted to come."

"Of course I want to go," Derek says. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Why would you?" Stiles asks. Which seems to stop Derek in his tracks. "I mean... The baby is only yours on paper right now. You've never said anything about actually being _involved_."

"I... oh," Derek says, frowning. Stiles shifts nervously.

"This really feels like I'm trying to manipulate you into being a father," he says. "And I don't want to do that. Obviously, if you want to keep a relationship with the baby after we divorce, or whatever, I won't stop it."

"Technically, you can't stop it," Derek points out. "I don't think you can manipulate me without any actual upper hand." Stiles thinks on that. Derek's right. Alpha parents have more rights to their children than omega parents do. That is, after all, the whole reason why Stiles married Derek in the first place. If Stiles wanted to keep Derek away from the baby after the divorce, he couldn't. Hell, if Derek wanted, _he_ could retain sole custody and only let Stiles see the baby at his discretion.

Luckily, Derek isn't that type of person.

Stiles hopes.

"Okay, yeah, good point," Stiles says. "But, still. I'd rather you didn't get involved in this part of things unless you want to be all in, I guess. I want to minimize the hurt as much as possible when all this is over."

"I get that," Derek says. "Actually, I, uh..." He blushes, which Stiles finds charming. "I sort of just assumed you'd let me be the alpha parent in any way that matters, when I thought about it at all. Though it is kind of hard to actually imagine anything when the kid's not even here yet."

"Oh," Stiles says, blinking. "Is that good?" Derek shrugs.

"I always thought I'd have kids someday," he says. "Maybe not like this, exactly, but I mean..." He shrugs again. "I'm pretty sure I could do worse in life than accidentally getting attached to your kid."

"If you're sure," Stiles says. "Could you even get time off work tomorrow, though? This is pretty last minute."

"All I'll have to do is mention the word 'baby' and I'll get all the time off I need," Derek says.

***

Stiles paces the living room nervously as he waits for Derek to pick him up for his appointment.

He's been worrying about the appointment all day. It's mostly the fear of the unknown that's keeping his anxiety running high, but there's also the matter of paternity that's picking at him.

Surely there's no way for the OB to tell that the baby isn't biologically Derek's, is there? There won't be a gotcha moment where Stiles will be declared a liar and then Theo will suddenly materialize from somewhere, waiting to get his hands on Stiles again.

Stiles really has to be overthinking this. Most likely he'll be asked questions about his health, about the baby, get an ultrasound, and then get berated for waiting so long to see a doctor in the first place.

Stiles pounces on Derek as soon as he opens the door.

"Do you think they'll know?" He asks, grabbing the front of Derek's shirt.

"Know what?" Derek asks. "Are you okay? You look... wired."

"Maybe this is a mistake," Stiles says, not looking at Derek. "Maybe I can just stay here the whole time. Have the baby in the bathtub or something. Everyone keeps saying omega bodies are designed for birth, it should be fine."

"Stiles," Derek says, grabbing Stiles by the shoulders. "Breathe." Stiles sucks in a large breath and holds it. "Relax. You can't have a baby in the apartment. We don't have pain meds here."

"Fuck, you're right," Stiles says on an exhale. "Could we get some though? Peter's pretty shady, isn't he? He could probably swing it."

"We are not asking Peter to source us black market pain meds," Derek says. "Seriously, though, Stiles, what's all this about?" Stiles looks straight into Derek's face, which is pretty much at eye-level since Derek has only maybe an inch on Stiles (Stiles has always been pretty tall for an omega).

"I'm scared," he says.

"Of what?" Derek asks.

"Of them finding out the truth," Stiles says. "About Theo being the baby's sire."

"How would they find that out?" Derek asks.

"I dunno," Stiles admits.

"Look, once I'm there and I sign whatever the alpha sire needs to sign, it won't really matter where the baby came from," Derek says. "The world we live in comes with some shitty rules, but we can still use them in our favour."

"I can't help but worry, though," Stiles says.

"I'm sure if I was in your shoes and went through what you went through I'd feel the same way," Derek says. "But you know this appointment is important. And just remember that if anything weird happens, I can always cause a scene and threaten to sue."

"Yes! That's brilliant, Derek!" Stiles exclaims. "The second any of them even look at me sideways, you start something. You're an alpha, they'll take you seriously."

"I promise to fight a nurse for you if I have to," Derek says. "Now come on, you don't want to be late, do you?"

"No, they'd probably judge the fuck out of me for that too."

***

All told, signing forms and meeting with the OB is all fairly anti-climactic. Stiles is sure that he drives Derek nuts by constantly checking the forms and papers to make sure that Derek's signed everything he needs to sign to be considered the baby's sire. Derek's nice enough to not call him out, though, for which Stiles is grateful.

There is a bit of a tense moment where a nurse insists on seeing Stiles alone and where Stiles absolutely refuses. Derek's helpless shrug at the whole situation, and having Stiles practically wrapped around one of his arms, probably goes a long way to reassure the nurse that this situation is indeed weird, but Derek probably isn't the cause of that.

Dr Kaneko, a kindly beta woman with a stern resting face, does give Stiles a bit of a talking-to for going to almost four months without seeing a doctor (Stiles doesn't tell her about the initial appointment with Cora) but also gives Stiles the impression that he's in good hands with her. She even makes it a point to speak directly to him, unlike nearly every other doctor that Stiles has seen over the course of his life (including the one he'd gone to see with Cora).

Stiles' vitals are checked, he has blood drawn (which he does not particularly care for), and he gets so many 'What To Expect' pamphlets. All in all, it seems he did all that worrying for nothing.

Finally, they get to the ultrasound portion of the appointment. The ultrasound tech isn't as welcoming as Dr Kaneko, not to Stiles at least. It's a male beta who instantly starts flirting with Derek, even though Stiles is literally _right there getting an ultrasound for his and Derek's child_.

Stiles knows that Derek is basically hotter than the sun, but come on!

"So, are you hoping for a big, strong alpha like you?" the tech asks Derek, readying the ultrasound wand and not looking in Stiles' direction.

"As long as it comes out healthy I couldn't care less," Derek deadpans. "What about you, Stiles?"

"I always wanted a puppy," Stiles says. Derek disguises a laugh as a cough and the ultrasound tech levels Stiles with a look reminiscent of the haughty disdainful looks Lydia used to give him in high school.

"Lift your shirt up and push down your pants a bit," the tech orders. Stiles does what he's told, then freezes with his shirt halfway up, suddenly conscious that this is the first time Derek will be seeing his belly. Or any part of him unclothed, come to that. The slight but obvious lower swell of Stiles' belly is all that's visible, but it seems to have Derek's full attention. Stiles studies Derek's face from beneath his lashes. Derek looks almost… awed. Then he catches Stiles' eye and smiles.

Stiles smiles back, and then grimaces when the tech bitches at him to hurry up.

***

Seeing the tiny (slightly misshapen, let's be real) image on the screen and then hearing the heartbeat is the closest thing to a religious experience that Stiles has ever had in his entire life.

Everything he's been through up until this point has been… certainly not worth it, but is easier to deal with knowing that he has this, and that he has much better things to look forward to.

This tiny being had given Stiles the drive he'd needed to get away from Theo. And no matter how it got there, Stiles will be forever grateful for it.

***

***


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all of derek's co-workers are OCs

Derek's supervisor is on him as soon as he gets into work the next morning.

He doesn't even make it past the new arrivals display at the entrance before Yael is on him.

"Alright, Hale, let's see it," he demands, holding a hand out. "You already stiffed us on the wedding, you owe us this. I really thought we were friends, man." Derek fights the urge to roll his eyes. Yael is a decent supervisor, but he also has the annoying habit of trying to be everyone's friend in a way that's just a thinly-veiled ploy to get into everyone's business. This is especially bothersome to Derek, who prefers to keep his work and private lives separate.

Derek usually finds it a lot more irritating than he does right now, but he's still on a bit of a high after yesterday's ultrasound appointment. Getting to see and hear the baby (even if he and Stiles do both agree that the baby is more a deformed blob at this point) (no shade to the baby, it still has some growing to do) made it all more real than it has been up to this point.

Instead of scaring him off, which would be the normal reaction since this whole situation is still fairly surreal, it made Derek more invested. No matter what happens between him and Stiles in the end, Derek is this baby's alpha parent. He feels that in his heart.

His mother is going to have an absolute cow about it. But that's a problem for another time.

"Is that Derek?" a voice calls from somewhere behind the large front desk. A second later, Jessie pops into view, dust-bunnies in her hair. Derek elects not to ask. "Do you have pictures?"

"I do," Derek says. "Hold on." He doesn't feel bad showing the ultrasound photo around since all his family and friends have already seen it. He and Stiles had had the sheriff and Natalie over for supper after the appointment for the express purpose of showing the baby off. Natalie and Stiles are still a bit awkward with each other, but the night had gone well otherwise.

Derek takes his wallet out of his back pocket and removes a folded picture from it. Yael immediately snatches it from his hand and unfolds it. Jessie comes out from behind the desk for a closer look.

"Look. At. That," Yael says. "Little Baby Hale. Good on you, Derek."

"Aww!" Jessie squeals. "How cute! Did you guys pick out any names yet?"

"Not yet," Derek says. "We're still working on it."

They haven't been working on it at all.

"Derek Jr," Yael offers.

"Absolutely not," Derek says. Eventually the first regulars of the day start showing up and they all scramble to get to work. Derek carefully tucks the ultrasound printout back into his wallet for safe keeping.

***

Derek had spend a large part of his work day showing off the ultrasound photo to everyone who asked; and even a few who hadn't.

A part of him feels a bit like a cheat. Like he shouldn't be acting like a proud alpha sire with a growing family considering he had nothing to do with the baby's conception and his new 'family' is technically only temporary.

But he's made up his mind that even if he only has to be Uncle Derek to this baby, he's going to be as big a part of its life as Stiles will let him.

***

Cora is at the apartment when Derek gets home from work that day. She and Stiles are sitting on the living room couch playing on a Nintendo Switch that hadn't been there when Derek had left that morning.

"Where did that come from?" Derek asks, pointing with one hand as he sets aside his bag with the other.

"Hey, Derek," Stiles says, grinning.

"Me and Isaac went halves on it," Cora says. "We decided to treat ourselves."

"Didn't you just get a PlayStation?" Derek asks.

"Nah we borrowed that," Cora says. This whole conversation goes by without Cora looking away from the TV even once. Stiles gets up from the couch and walks over to Derek, holding something in his hands.

"Look, she got us something for the baby too," he says. He's holding a round, pink plush toy in his hands and he holds it up for Derek's inspection.

"Kirby," Derek says, delighted. It's a cute toy, and looks perfectly squishable for tiny grasping hands.

"It's adorable," Stiles says.

"By the way," Cora pipes up. "Dad wants you to go by the house sometime. He says that he might have some hand-me-down furniture for you that Laura didn't want." Stiles whirls to Cora in surprise.

"Hand-me-downs?" he asks. "He doesn't have to do that. This baby isn't… I mean…" He gives a frustrated huff.

"Stiles, you're not really paying attention if you seriously think that Derek isn't gonna fall head over heels with this baby, if he hasn't already," Cora says. "You know his heart is complete marshmallow under all that scruff." Stiles cuts a look at Derek. It looks almost apologetic.

"Yeah," he says.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Derek says.

"It could be," Stiles says. "This whole situation is complicated."

"Not really," Cora says. She sprawls over the couch. "Not this bit at least. Unless you're planning to leave Beacon Hills once the baby's born."

"I'm never leaving Beacon Hills again," Stiles insists. The look Cora shoots him is sad. Stiles doesn't notice since he's turned away from both of them by this point.

"No one's saying you have to," Cora says. "But even if you two divorce, both of you are still sticking around. And Derek is the baby's father on paper. So why not just co-parent if that's what you both want? Unless you don't want Derek to co-parent with you?" Derek's heart thuds in his chest as he waits for Stiles' response. Stiles still doesn't turn around to face either of them.

"I don't want it if he feels like he's being forced into this," Stiles says finally. Derek lets out a breath he hasn't realized he's been holding.

"I really don't feel forced here, Stiles," Derek says.

"But what if you do later?" Stiles says, finally turning. His eyes are teary. "What if, later on, you meet someone you want to be with for real. Then what? What if you find someone who doesn't want this unrelated kid hanging onto you?"

"I wouldn't be with someone who thought that, Stiles," Derek says. He walks forward and puts his hands on Stiles' shoulders. Stiles is worrying at the stuffed Kirby, rhythmically squishing it and pulling at it. Derek slides his hands down Stiles' arms until they cover Stiles' hands, stilling them.

"Why are you so nice?" Stiles asks. Derek doesn’t know how to answer that.

"This is what he's like with the people he cares about," Cora says from the couch. "Welcome to the club."

***

"So, you really are serious about this," Stiles says, very suddenly and unprompted. Derek almost misses it since he also says it in the middle of an action scene on the movie they're watching.

"Serious about what?" Derek asks. Stiles doesn't answer and Derek pauses the movie. He looks at Stiles sitting next to him on the couch and starting at the TV screen. Stiles has one hand resting on the swell of his middle, one thumb sweeping back and forth rhythmically.

"Being the baby's alpha father," Stiles says. "And everything that comes with that."

"Yeah," Derek says. Stiles finally looks at him then. His big brown eyes are worried.

"You know this whole situation is weird, right?" He asks.

"Of course," Derek says. "Doesn't mean we can't make the best of it though."

"I just don’t want you to regret any of this down the road," Stiles says. "I don't want you to look back on this in, like, five years and wish you'd turned me down on this whole marriage thing. I only know you agreed to do this because you're basically a saint, but I don't want to ruin your life or anything."

"I'm not a saint, Stiles," Derek says. "I would've found a way to help you either way if you were just a random omega. But I married you because you're you. I remember you from high school, I know who you are. We were sort of friends once. I really wouldn't get this involved for just anyone, so don't sell yourself short."

Stiles looks like he doesn't know what to do with that information. When he still doesn't say anything after a minute or so of silence, Derek un-pauses the movie.

***

***


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bonus chapter :D
> 
> tw for ptsd and references to abuse

Stiles is pretty sure that Talia Hale is never going to like him.

And the irritating part is that he's not sure if it's because of his personality or that she still thinks he's after the family's money.

It takes him and Derek almost two weeks to find the time to get over to Derek's parents' house to check out the old baby furniture they've kept stored in the attic.

Stiles almost doesn't want to get out of the car when they arrive, thinking he'd rather just wander into the woods surrounding the place and take his chances there. But he sucks it up and gets out. Derek straight-up married Stiles as a huge favour, the least Stiles can do is spend time with his parents.

His in-laws.

What a weird thought.

Samuel's the one who meets them both at the door.

"Hi, boys," he says. "Come on in. I've got the attic ladder all propped up and ready to go. Stiles, will you be able to climb that?" He starts leading them through the house.

"An actual ladder?" Stiles asks. "Better not risk it. I was already uncoordinated enough without the extra weight on my front. I'll just leave it up to Derek. Thanks again for all this, by the way. You don't have to do this."

"Hey, no matter how temporary it might turn out to be, you're family now," Samuel says cheerfully. "And family helps family." Stiles is starting to get a sense of where Derek's big heart comes from. "How far along are you now?"

"16 weeks," Stiles says.

"Getting close to halfway," Samuel says. He leads the way through the house and up a few flights of stairs. "I remember those days. I think the waiting is the worst part. I just wanted all the kids out so I could finally meet them."

"I feel you," Stiles says. "Though sometimes I think it'd just be safer staying inside." What he wouldn't give to have a normal pregnancy experience with a normal marriage. When he was young, the last thing he wanted was a traditional relationship. He would _kill_ for that right now.

"Yes, I suppose your situation is a bit more complicated," Samuel says, smiling kindly.

"Understatement," Stiles says.

"So you two are doing alright with that?" Samuel asks. Stiles and Derek share a look. Really, aside from the underlying fear of Theo and the uncertainty about the future, Stiles has nothing to complain about.

"Derek is probably the best person I could've chosen to be fake-married to," Stiles says. Samuel lets out a hearty laugh and Stiles peeks at Derek to see his cheeks flush pink. They reach the ladder to the attic, which is indeed a wooden ladder propped up against an open square in the ceiling.

"We always kept meaning to install an actual folding staircase here," Samuel comments, resting a hand on one of the ladder rungs. "But we just never got around to it."

"How did you even get any furniture up there in the first place?" Derek asks.

"A lot of swearing," Samuel says dryly. "Alright, Derek, up you go." He makes a sweeping gesture at the ladder and Derek quickly climbs up and into the ceiling. Samuel follows soon after. The ladder turns out to be surprisingly sturdy; Stiles still doesn't want to try it. He leans against a wall and starts messing around on his phone as he waits, listening to the thumps and indistinct murmur of voices from above him.

It's calm and quiet in the hallway itself, which is why he's badly startled when he glances up from his phone to see Talia suddenly standing in front of him. He nearly swallows his tongue in shock, which is probably for the best since it keeps him from blurting out his first immediate though, which is 'holy fucking shit'.

Talia doesn't say anything, she just stands there with her arms crossed tightly over her chest and looking Stiles up and down. Stiles fidgets under her stare and immediately wants to cover himself. He lowers his phone, holding it in front of his belly with both hands, which barely counts as coverage, but it's the only thing he can think to do at the moment. The blatant hostility radiating off of Talia makes Stiles want to take off running, but he can't make himself move.

"You can play the distressed innocent act all you want," Talia says lowly. "I know what you're really after." Stiles' mouth feels like it's clamped shut. Staying with Derek for the past couple of months, spending time with Cora again, being around his father; he's gotten too used to being comfortable around alphas. The 'danger: hostile alpha' alarms going off in his head are almost a slap in the face after all this time, and a vicious throwback that Stiles would rather not have at the moment.

Suddenly the Hale house disappears and Stiles is back in Alabama, back in Theo's (because certainly Stiles could never claim any ownership over anything, never mind property) shitty two-bedroom house that was maybe only one step above a neglected trailer home. He's cowering in the space between the bed and wall in the guest bedroom, knowing it's no use because there's no real way to hide in this place. It's too small. He would've run out the back door or climbed out a window instead, but there's nowhere for him to go.

Theo's out in the living room and Stiles knows it's only a matter of time before he comes in here for him.

One would think he'd have learned his lesson by now. It had been one of the first things Theo had made sure he understood: an omega doesn't mouth off to his alpha.

And an omega certainly doesn't refuse an alpha's demand and then insult him on top of that.

Stiles is _such_ an idiot. He knows better than this. He knows there's no escape now, so why would he rock the boat?

_"What are you doing!?"_

Someone roars.

Stiles screams.

***/***

Derek's not proud of the way he all but flings his mother to the side to get to Stiles, but he'll care about that later. Right now there's an omega – _his_ omega - in danger and he has to neutralize the threat.

"What in all holy hell--!?" Samuel is halfway out of the attic entrance when Stiles starts screaming and nearly tumbles over himself getting the rest of the way down. "Talia, what did you do?"

Stiles is curled up on the floor, arms over his head, and still screaming. Derek pretty much throws himself down next to him, wanting to pull him into his arms but not sure if that just won't make everything worse.

"Stiles?" Derek asks, hands hovering over Stiles' huddled form. He's not sure that Stiles hears him over the sound of his own screams.

"What did you do!?" Samuel shouts at Talia. Talia is watching this whole scene with wide eyes.

"I- I didn't..." She says.

"Dad, get her out of here!" Derek says.

Stiles is _still_ screaming. He sounds terrified and Derek's heart breaks for him. Samuel grabs Talia by the arms and starts leading her away. Derek hears their footsteps rush down the stairs. He stays crouched next to Stiles, letting out as many calming pheromones as he can, hoping that it'll help.

It takes a few minutes, but Stiles suddenly goes silent. It's so abrupt that it leaves Derek more unsettled than relieved.

"Stiles?" He asks tentatively, reaching out again but still not touching. Stiles raises his head and looks in Derek's general direction, but his eyes are unfocused. He doesn't say anything. Derek finally puts his hand down on Stiles' shoulder and it's like a switch gets flipped. Stiles snaps into motion, launching himself at Derek with enough force to throw them both backwards. Derek wraps his arms around Stiles and clutches him to his chest. Stiles starts sobbing, and Derek can feel tears in his own eyes.

***/***

Stiles has no idea how or why Derek Hale got to Alabama.

Cora probably sent him.

Stiles knows Derek. He's one of the good ones. He can keep him safe from Theo.

***

***


	13. Chapter 13

Getting Stiles back home is a frighteningly easy task. After all the screaming and crying, Stiles becomes almost like an empty shell, content to be moved or maneuvered anywhere as long as Derek is the one doing it.

Derek doesn't even get the chance to go off on his mother, though he's sure either his father or Cora will have that covered for him.

Stiles is silent the entire drive to the apartment, staring unseeing out the window with one hand firmly gripping any part of Derek he can reach. Derek needs to call Stiles' father soon because Stiles is definitely not okay. Hell, _Derek's_ not okay, his hands are shaking on the Camaro's steering wheel and it's taking all his concentration to stay driving in a straight line.

He has no idea what just happened.

Okay, he has some idea, but he doesn't want to think too hard on it.

_"He put me in the hospital."_

Derek shudders. He doesn't know everything that Stiles has been through, but now he might have a new appreciation for why Stiles prefers to stay in the apartment all the time.

The sheriff's police cruiser is sitting in a guest parking spot when Derek turns onto the apartment building's property. The car is empty, so Derek continues on to his spot in the underground parking lot, sure that the sheriff is already waiting for them inside the building.

Sure enough, once Derek manages to coax Stiles out of the car and into the building, he finds the sheriff pacing in the lobby. The sheriff spots them the second they enter and immediately powers over to them.

"You r father called me," he says. "Is Stiles okay?"

"I don't know," Derek answers. The sheriff gets into Stiles' space, cupping his face and raking his gaze over him. Stiles lets it happen, but Derek still isn't entirely sure how aware he even is right now. Then the sheriff turns a frown on Derek.

"You're looking a bit pale too," he says. "C'mon, let's get upstairs." Derek leads the way, overly conscious of Stiles' grip on the back of his shirt. Almost like he's afraid Derek will disappear on him. He is so far out of his depth here.

Derek lets them all into the apartment and stands awkwardly in the middle of the living room with Stiles pressed against his back, not sure where to go from here.

"Sit down on the couch there," the sheriff says, taking charge. "I'll get you both some water." He heads off to the kitchen while Derek eases himself and Stiles down on the couch. Once seated, Stiles curls into Derek's side and goes still. Derek looks down at him to see that his eyes are closed, but he's still clearly awake judging by the tight grip he keeps on Derek's shirt, which is now twisted awkwardly. Derek lets out a sigh and closes his own eyes, letting his head fall back against the top of the couch back.

Derek's phone rings in his pocket, startling him a bit. He pulls it out to read the screen, and then answers the call because it's Cora.

"Hey," he says tiredly.

"Dude, what the fuck happened here?" Cora whisper shouts into the phone. "I came back early to help with the furniture and you guys aren't here and Mom and Dad are really going at it!" The sheriff comes back into the room with two glasses of water, Derek accepts one and watches and the sheriff tries to convince Stiles to drink from the other one.

"I think Mom triggered Stiles," Derek says. "She was alone with him while me and Dad were in the attic. Stupid. I should've checked to see if she was home first. I wasn't thinking."

"Jesus Christ," Cora mutters. "Is Stiles okay? He was a bit of a mess at first when we were getting him away from Theo, but I thought he was doing better?"

"He had a screaming fit and went catatonic on you too?" Derek asks. He hears the sheriff suck in a quick breath. "Sorry." The sheriff shakes his head.

"Once," Cora says. "Right in the beginning. I woke him up from a nightmare and I think he reacted to having an unfamiliar alpha in the room with him."

"I think this time he was having a flashback," Derek says. "I don't think Mom actually physically did anything to him. But she obviously doesn't like him. Unfamiliar alpha who's also showing signs of open hostility? Not a good time."

"No," Cora agrees. "I'll call you back when things calm down here."

"Keep me posted," Derek says.

"Oh, Peter just showed up," Cora says before ending the call. Derek just tosses his phone to the side and puts his face in his hand with a sigh.

"I don't think I want your mother around Stiles anymore," the sheriff says, giving up on getting Stiles to drink his water.

"Me either," Derek says.

***

It takes a few hours, but Stiles finally starts coming around.

It's a beautiful thing when Derek looks down, still huddled against him on the couch, to find Stiles looking up at him with clear, present eyes. Wide, teary, worried eyes; but they're actually focusing on Derek and that's  all  that really matters right now.

"Hey," Derek says softly. Stiles blinks at him. The sheriff makes a noise from where he's sitting in the nearby armchair and Stiles whips his head around to look at him.

"How're you feeling?" The sheriff asks. Stiles blinks at him. Then takes a good look around the room.

"This is Derek's apartment," he says slowly.

"Yeah," the sheriff says.

"We weren't in Alabama," Stiles says, turning back to Derek.

"No," Derek says. "We were at my parents' house. Do you remember that?" Stiles nods. He snuggles closer to Derek, almost ending up with his face in Derek's armpit.

"Dangerous alpha," he says. "But not Theo."

"Yeah," Derek says. His voice cracks. "Not Theo."

***

Stiles starts panicking when the sheriff makes a move to leave later that night, so he spends the night in Stiles' room. Stiles ends up bunking with Derek. Everyone's too tired out to think much on the implications, if there even are any. Stiles' mind is still running in panic mode and has decided that Derek is its best bet for protection and safety. Who are Derek and the sheriff to argue with that?

Sleep doesn't come easy. Not for Derek, and especially not for Stiles, who keeps snapping awake every time it looks like he's starting to nod off.

"I feel like if I close my eyes, Theo will be there," he admits in a small voice, somewhere around one in the morning.

"If he ever shows up here I'll end him," Derek promises. "I said I'd keep you and the baby safe from him, and I meant it."

Derek's maybe now only realizing the full scope of what he's agreed to. How does he protect Stiles when the danger is out there, but also in Stiles' own head?

***

***


	14. Chapter 14

After Stiles' extremely embarrassing panic attack and slight flashback episode, Derek takes the next week off work. Stiles feels bad about that, but he won't argue that he feels a whole lot better with Derek with him all the time.

Spending all day, every day alone in the apartment with Derek for a whole week is almost like a dream come true. Stiles is afraid that Derek will chafe at the isolation eventually, but Derek also seems almost relaxed. They don't share the bed again, but they do spend a lot of their waking time together just hanging out and continuing to get to know each other better.

Derek even lets Stiles use all the cushions and blankets he owns to build a fort in the living room. And he joins him in it. Even when things with Theo were good, he'd never indulge in these kinds of shenanigans. It's refreshing to do silly things like this with someone without getting judged negatively for it.

Stiles wishes now that he'd stuck around Beacon Hills after graduation. Sent Theo off on his way and waited for Derek. Maybe they wouldn't have made it back then, or maybe they would have. Either way, being with Derek would've been a major improvement on how things actually went.

"Where were we, back at the end of high school?" Stiles asks. He and Derek are lounging in the blanket fort and watching Moana. Stiles has to watch it upside down lying on his back because he can't lay on his front. Derek wrinkles his nose and shoots Stiles a confused look.

"We were here?" He offers. "Well, you were still here when I graduated."

"Not like literally," Stiles says, waving a hand in the air. "Like, personally. We weren't, like, friends. Not really."

"Sometimes I think we skipped past friends and ended up as 'something', but then nothing ever really came of it," Derek says. "Do you know how weird it was to find someone attractive and annoying at the same time?"

"No, but do tell," Stiles says, rolling onto his side with a smirk. Derek mumbles something under his breath and looks away. Stiles' smirk widens. "I'll bet I had it easier. You were just Cora's hot older brother. Also, like, champion of omegas and the other disenfranchised."

"How do I keep getting some kind of equal-rights crusader reputation just for doing the bare minimum most of the time?" Derek asks.

"Dude, you actually married me for _my_ own personal safety," Stiles points out. "That's not the bare minimum. You're not actually getting anything out of this, it's mainly for my benefit."

"Technically I'm getting a kid out of it," Derek points out.

"I mean, yeah, but you didn't know that going in," Stiles says. "Also you greatly misunderstand the amount of alphas who don't even do the bare minimum. Take it from an omega who's spent the past five years with alphas like that. The bar is low for a reason." Derek's scent takes on a note of concern and Stiles wants to kick himself. He's said too much. Especially after what happened at the Hale's.

"Do you think you'll ever be able to tell me what happened to you while you were away?" Derek asks.

"I don't know," Stiles says. "I haven't even told my dad that much. And there's a lot that happened. Not necessarily to me directly. A lot of things happened around me. Or there were things I couldn't do because of what other people could or would do to me if I tried. And then the thing with Scott, which I'm still convinced had something to do with genders as much as it did Scott being an idiot."

"Have you heard from Scott again?" Derek asks.

"No. But I blocked his number, so… I wouldn't," Stiles says. "I guess my dad is keeping track of him on Facebook, or something. He hasn't been back here as far as he knows." Stiles himself doesn't have a Facebook. He'd had one years ago, but Theo had made him delete it not long after college.

"Is he keeping track of Theo on Facebook too?" Derek asks.

"Theo's Facebook is very private and his friends list is heavily curated," Stiles says. "So no."

"That would be too easy," Derek says.

"Of course," Stiles says. He lets himself flop over onto his back and stares up at the TV.

***

Halfway through Stiles And Derek's Week O' Solitude, there's a knock on the apartment door. Stiles peers out from the safety of the blanket fort as Derek goes to answer the knocking.

It turns out to be Cora and Isaac.

"Is that an actual blanket fort?" Cora asks, pointing.

"Yes," Stiles answers. "And it's great."

"Shove over," Cora says. She shoves past Derek and quickly makes for the fort. Stiles catches sight of Derek and Isaac sharing an eye roll as Cora crawls into the fort beside Stiles.

"Don't knock anything over," Stiles warns.

"And don't knock into Stiles," Derek calls.

"It's really spacey in here," Cora says.

"Gotta have room for both of us," Stiles says.

"Both of you, huh?" Cora asks, arching an eyebrow.

"It would've been rude to build a fort in Derek's living room that he couldn't fit in," Stiles says.

"If you say so," Cora says. "So anyway, Mom's still being a frosty bitch. Dad says he wants to come over to apologize if you're up for it. And he still has that furniture for you."

"Oh," Stiles says. "Your dad doesn't have to apologize."

"Tell him to come over anyway," Derek says. "Never mind about the furniture for now. Mom knows my number if _she_ wants to apologize." He stalks into the kitchen and out of sight, leaving Isaac standing awkwardly by himself. Stiles would offer him a seat, but all the living room furniture has been recruited for the fort.

"You know she doesn't," Cora says. "Anyway, Stiles, Jordan wants to know your feelings about baby showers."

"Mine or other people's?" Stiles asks. Cora gives him a look. "I don't like being the center of attention."

"If I remember right from high school, you used to love being the center of attention," Isaac says. "For better or for worse."

"I've since experienced the worst of 'for worse' and decided I'd rather just not," Stiles says. Isaac cringes and nods. It's a bit of an open secret that Isaac had a shitty childhood, though Stiles himself never learned the specifics. He remembers Isaac back in high school, though they were never close, as a skittish omega who rarely stood up for himself and only ever interacted significantly with the people closest to him. Stiles would sometimes get frustrated with him for acting like the stereotypical 'weak omega'. But these days he realizes that he just never understood what was really happening.

Shared trauma isn't something he wants to bond over with Isaac, so he doesn't try. Though in the back of his mind he's now painfully aware that they're both part of a club that's far too large for Stiles' liking.

"So no baby shower," Cora says. "Got it."

"Jordan can throw one for Derek if he wants," Stiles offers.

"No," Derek calls from the kitchen.

"Spoilsport," Cora says.

***

Stiles and Derek both accidentally fall asleep in the fort. Which Stiles discovers to be a bad idea when he wakes in the middle of the night with an ache in his hipbones. Even though he's lying on repurposed couch cushions, he'll still be feeling this tomorrow.

He knows Derek will have it much worse since he only has throw pillows and blankets to work with, having made sure Stiles' side of the fort was as well-padded as they could get it.

Stiles rolls over onto his back and props himself up with his elbows, wincing at a twinge in his lower back.

He has fond memories of sleeping in absolutely absurd positions when he was younger. Surely he's not too old now to have lost that ability? He'll just blame it on the pregnancy. Which he will also blame for his new constant need to pee.

He scoots himself out of the fort and tries to stretch out his back as he picks his way to the bathroom in the dark. He makes a mental note to mention to Derek to get a nightlight or something. Once he's done in the bathroom and he returns to the living room, he debates whether or not he should wake up Derek.

He can barely make Derek out with only faint combination of moonlight and streetlamp light coming in through the living room window (because they had never closed the curtains before falling asleep). Derek's sleeping soundly on his back, one arm flung over his face and his deep, even breathing filling the silence.

Really, Stiles could go back to his bedroom to sleep. It's what he should do; it would certainly be a lot better for his back. But returning to his bed means giving up his already warmed and comfortable spot in the fort. It means sleeping alone instead of with a warm body next to him. Which he's missed, if he's being honest with himself.

Back before everything in his life went to shit, Stiles would relish sharing a bed with Theo and feeling his warm body pressed against his own. And then of course Theo had to go and ruin it and turn it into something threatening and suffocating.

So now he studies Derek's prone form. He remembers the night he shared Derek's bed, the day of the flashback. Even if they hadn't been all up against each other, a warm body next to him had been a comfort.

Making his mind up, and already mourning a pain-free next day, Stiles lowers himself to the floor and gets back in the fort, moving carefully so as not to wake Derek. Apparently he doesn't move carefully enough because Derek wakes up before Stiles can get himself settled.

"What? Stiles?" Derek's voice is scratchy from sleep and his movements are awkward as he turns on his side. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing, I had to pee," Stiles says. "Go back to sleep."

"Hrm," Derek grunts. And then, before Stiles realizes what's happening, Derek's arm goes around Stiles' waist and Stiles finds himself being tucked against Derek's chest. Stiles instinctively freezes, but soon melts against the warmth radiating from Derek.

Derek, who has immediately fallen back asleep.

Stiles can't help but burrow in closer, taking in deep lungfuls of Derek's scent softened by sleep. A pang of longing hits him so hard it brings tears to his eyes.

He never thought he'd want to take another chance on an alpha. Not after Theo. But he thinks he could really try with Derek. Derek, who is warm and safe and careful and has a heart big enough for Stiles' baby, who isn't even his.

Maybe that heart has enough room in it for Stiles too.

***

***


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had this one ready early

Derek almost doesn't want to go back to work after his week off with Stiles.

But he makes himself go because he's a big boy who needs to provide for his new family. He doesn't say that out loud, because Stiles would probably have a fit, but that's what he feels.

Stiles is still asleep when he leaves. In his own bedroom. Waking up together in the fort that one morning had been an experience that Derek would love to repeat, except for the part where they had to deal with sore backs the next day. Also Stiles shouldn't be sleeping on the floor at all, inadequate couch cushion mattress or not. Stiles hadn't so much as hinted about maybe sharing an actual bed again, and Derek hadn't been brave enough to bring it up himself.

Surprisingly, though, the whole thing hadn't made the atmosphere in the apartment awkward at all. Which Derek is counting as a win, and maybe as a sign that Stiles wouldn't mind maybe being a bit closer to him.

He doesn't want to put any pressure on Stiles though. Derek is acutely aware of the reality of their situation and that he's holding all the cards. He doesn't want to suggest anything and have Stiles take it as a requirement for their deal.

And he used to think normal dating was hard.

Yael is behind the large front desk when Derek enters the library. There's a smirk on his face that Derek doesn't trust.

"Hi?" Derek says, wondering if it's already too late to just turn and run. Yael's smirk widens.

"Did you enjoy your week?" He asks.

"What?" Derek asks.

"Yael!" An irritated voice calls from the small office behind the desk. Holly, a supervisor from a different department, sticks her head out and levels Yael with a glare that could peel paint. "What did I _just_ get finished telling you?"

"Aw c'mon, Holly," Yael smarms. "It's just a question. Don't get your panties in a twist." Holly's face flushes deep red in anger. Derek isn't really sure of the dynamics between Yael and Holly, but he knows that theirs is not a good working relationship. Mostly because It's obvious that Yael doesn't respect Holly at all and Holly can't do much to change that.

Yael is an alpha, Holly is an omega. Before being reunited with Stiles, Derek hadn't thought much on how their secondary genders might play a role in how they interact. But now that's all he thinks about. About why Yael feels like he doesn't have to respect Holly, who is his professional equal for all intents and purposes, and why the higher-ups don't do anything about it.

"Derek," Holly says. "I would appreciate no sexually explicit discussions in the workplace."

"What!?" Derek exclaims.

"Ignore her, she's just a prude," Yael says. And then laughs when Holly ducks back into the office and slams the door shut. "So... Details?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Derek says, slowly edging away in the direction of the entrance that will take him to the employee only area of the library.

"Seriously, Derek?" Yael asks, like he's disappointed. "You took a whole week off work out of the blue. Without even coming in, just calling over the phone. Everyone knows what it means when an alpha does that with an omega at home."

Realization slams into Derek and he feels his cheeks heat. His face must be bright red now because Yael laughs again.

He's talking about a heat leave. He thinks Derek has been home sharing a heat. With Stiles.

He wants to kick himself. He hadn't even thought of the implications when he'd called for the time off. He'd been too worried about Stiles at the time to care about what the people at work thought.

Although...

"Stiles didn't go into heat," Derek says. "He can't. He's pregnant." Yael just smirks again.

"Pregnancy heats are a thing, Hale, you can't fool me," he says. "You must be really worn out if you're this slow on the uptake this early in the day." Derek can't think of anything to say to that other than 'fuck off that's none of your business', which Isn't something one says to one's supervisor if one wants to keep their job. So he finally makes his escape through the employee only door to the soundtrack of Yael's laughter behind him.

***

Derek calls his father at lunch, hiding out deep in a more unused section of the library. He's already embarrassed enough at his own ignorance, he doesn't want anyone to overhear this conversation and start judging him.

It doesn't take long for Samuel to pick up. He's most likely at home right now since he's never worked outside the house since he started having children.  Another thing Derek didn't think on too much until Stiles.  "Hey, Derek. What's up?"

"Not much," Derek answers. "Umm..."

"Is something wrong?" Samuel asks.

"No, I just have a question," Derek says. "It's, ah, a bit of an awkward one."

"Alright, shoot."

"Do pregnant omegas have heats?"

"Yes? Did you not know this? I know sex ed in schools isn't the greatest, especially where omegas are concerned, but I'm sure they would've at least mentioned this at some point." Derek tries to think back to high school sex ed classes and draws a blank. He even tries bringing up any pop culture references that he might've seen and still comes up empty.

"Maybe they did," he says. "But I must've forgotten it. Is Stiles going to go into heat? Why would he? He's already pregnant, and I thought that was the whole point of heats."

"It is," Samuel says. "Heats during pregnancy aren't actual heats, though. It's more of a pseudo-heat triggered by all the changing hormones. It doesn't always happen, and if it happens at all it's not as intense and it doesn't last as long as an actual heat."

"So is this going to happen to Stiles?" Derek asks.

"There's really no way to tell if it will or won't," Samuel says. "Don't worry if it does. We'll help you figure something out."

"Thanks," Derek says. After a bit more unrelated small talk, Derek says goodbye and ends the call. He briefly considers texting Stiles and asking about this, figuring it'd be easier bringing this up without being face to face.

He doesn't in the end. Maybe it won't happen and all this worrying will be for nothing.

***

Stiles is sitting at the coffee table with his laptop when Derek gets home from work. They'd eventually broken down the fort and put everything away so the living room furniture is now useable again. Derek eyes him as he crosses the living room. Stiles' gaze is fixed to the screen and he's got one hand tapping away on the keyboard and the other moving a wireless mouse. That means he's working. Still doing the editing work that gave him a bit of financial freedom back when he was stuck with Theo. He doesn't look up when Derek enters, but he makes a noise acknowledging his presence.

Derek notices that he's sitting a bit stiffly, though. His back is ramrod straight and his shoulders seem like they're locked in place, which just looks uncomfortable. Derek also notices that the shirt he's wearing is pretty tight across the belly, riding up a bit on one side. Stiles hasn't mentioned trying to go out to get clothes again, Derek makes a mental note to bring it up later.

Derek wonders if he should bring up heats now after all. He ponders on it as he changes out of his work clothes into casual sweats. It really would be better to figure out some kind of plan just in case it does happen.

Though, whenever Derek tries to think up a way to start what will promise to be a _very_ awkward conversation, his imagination throws up an image of what Stiles might look like in the throes of heat. It's not a completely new image; Derek, as a healthy alpha with an interest in sex with omegas, has often pictured what many of his crushes would look like while in heat. One of those crushes had, in fact, been Stiles.

Although now his old image of Stiles - sweaty and flushed and dripping with slick and writhing around on Derek's bedsheets begging for his knot – has now been updated to account for five years of aging and a pregnancy.

Derek feels a tingle starting up low in his belly and shakes his head to clear the image.

He can't be thinking of that with Stiles in the apartment. That would make things very awkward indeed.

Once he's sure he's fully composed and not emitting any lustful pheromones (or tenting his sweats), Derek heads back out into the living room.

Stiles is still where Derek left him, still sitting unusually stiffly at the coffee table. Derek eyes the rigid set of his back and shoulders and wanders over, taking a seat on the couch. Stiles hadn't looked like this after their night spent in the fort. Derek hopes something serious isn't going on.

"Is something wrong?" Derek asks. Stiles starts a bit and turns away from the laptop to look at Derek behind him. He winces as he moves and Derek's eyes narrow.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Stiles asks. He must notice that his shirt has ridden up because he pulls it down. And winces again.

"Just a stab in the dark," Derek says dryly. "Did you hurt yourself somewhere? Maybe we should get a proper desk for you if sitting here like this hurts your back. Or you can just use the kitchen table."

"My back is fine," Stiles says. And then Derek watches Stiles cheeks slowly flush red. "It's... uh... just... mynippleshurt." It takes Derek a few seconds to parse that, and once he does his cheeks heat.

Great. Now he's thinking about Stiles' nipples.

"I don't know what to do with that," he says.

"Me either," Stiles says miserably. "I tried ice first, but that just got uncomfortable after a while." He hunches over and winces again. Derek gets the urge to call his father again, but hesitates. Asking him about Stiles' hypothetical heats is one thing, talking to him about Stiles' actual nipples is another.

"Did you try Googling it?" Derek asks. Stiles nods.

"That was my next try after the ice," he says. "My other options are a different bra or just no contact with anything on my chest area. Whichever works first, I guess."

"Did it say what the cause is?" Derek asks. "It's not an injury, or something?"

"Hormones," Stiles answers. "Apparently this is my body's way of telling me that I'm one of the lucky male omegas who'll get actual breasts. Yay me."

"Could be worse I guess," Derek says.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "I'll have to go back to Omega Basics. The only bra I have is a nursing one. And that one might even be too small if I'm getting tits. Fuck sakes."

"Do you want me to take you again?" Derek asks.

"You don't have to," Stiles says. "My dad's supposed to take me to lunch tomorrow. I'll get him to take me to the mall after. Of course." He huffs angrily. "It would be so much easier if I could go myself. But of course I can't because of this stupid fucking hang-up about fucking Theo!" This quick switch to anger surprises Derek because it comes out of nowhere. Also he doesn't think he's seen Stiles get angry since... probably high school. He's not sure what to do here. Stiles twists back to face the computer and then lets out what sounds like a scream through clenched teeth.

"And this fucking shirt!" Without warning, he shoves the coffee table away from himself and strips his shirt off in one motion, flinging it across the room. He puts his face in his hands and makes a whining noise. Derek gets himself down to the floor in time for Stiles to burst into tears and throw himself into his arms.

Soon Derek has a lapful of sobbing omega and no idea what to do. After a moment of indecision, he decides to go with what his instincts are telling him to do and wraps his arms around Stiles to pull him closer, careful of his belly and chest.

It seems to be the right thing to do because Stiles doesn't try to get away from him, just burrows closer and shoves his face up against Derek's throat. Derek runs what he hopes is a soothing hand up and down Stiles' bare back. Stiles fists his hands in Derek's shirt and cries until he exhausts himself. He doesn't fall asleep, but he does eventually go quiet and limp and seems content to just rest in Derek's arms.

Derek doesn't know when he started rocking them back and forth, but he doesn't let up for another little while.

***

***


	16. Chapter 16

Hormones. Stiles does not appreciate those fuckers one little bit.

It's like they suddenly all at once decided to start shit and mess with Stiles' emotions.

The morning Stiles had started crying over finishing the last of the Frosted Flakes, which was the morning after he'd cried himself out all over Derek because of _nipples_ (well, more than that really, but the nipples had started it), he'd decided he was well and truly over all of it. Which didn't make one bit of difference because everything was still happening.

Derek, to his credit, seems to be taking everything in stride. Stiles tries not to blow up at him too much since he really is just an innocent bystander who's doing Stiles a _huge_ favour, but sometimes he can't help it. And Derek isn't even home most of the day so sometimes he just comes home to Stiles angry at him for literally no reason. And then the wind will change, or something, and Stiles' mood flips and then he's overly apologetic and weepy.

He's become a pregnant omega sitcom stereotype and he hates it.

***

Stiles is grateful for Laura's husband Jordan, but he's not sure they'll ever be friends.

It's not that Stiles doesn't like Jordan, he's a perfectly nice guy. He has a bit of a sense of humour and makes amazing desserts. But he also perfectly fits society's role for the ideal omega and doesn't seem to understand why Stiles want s to buck the trend so much.

Like, Stiles would more appreciate Jordan's advice on alleviating the nipple pain if it didn't also come with some weird sort of polite admonishment about his suitability as a spouse for Derek.

"This apartment really isn't that big," Jordan says once during a visit. "How much time a day do you spend on cleaning?"

"I dunno," Stiles says. "I usually just clean up after myself and, like, one day a week I'll do the floors and clean the bathroom or whatever. Mostly I work during the day. Online." Stiles figures that the least he can do while he's here is keep the place clean. Still no cooking, because he'd tried that early on just to see and then instantly regretted it. He doesn't clean as obsessively as he had when he first moved in, but the apartment is still perfectly fine.

"I still don't see why you're working when you're married," Jordan says. "And you're pregnant on top of that. It's the alpha's job to provide for their omega. You're basically undermining Derek's authority and place in the household when you work." Stiles wonders if he could punch Jordan in the face and blame it on the hormones. Probably not.

Needless to say, they don't spend a lot of time together.

***

Stiles is spending a quiet afternoon in his bedroom. He's already yelled at Derek for no reason, burst into tears, and then put himself in timeout. Where he is now wallowing.

Why does Derek even put up with him when he's like this?

Stiles stares at the wall where he's lying on his side on the bed. If he and Derek were real husbands, they might have started to prepare this room to be a nursery by now. Stiles isn't sure where his baby is going to sleep once it's born.

Sure, at first they'll stay here and the baby can use the antique-looking cradle that Samuel Hale had finally managed to get over here. But surely Stiles and the baby can't stay here forever. It isn't necessary for Stiles to stay married to Derek for Derek's claim on the baby to be valid, so there's no reason for them to stay married long-term. And once the divorce goes through, there's no point in Stiles staying. He and Derek can co-parent separately.

Stiles wants Derek to move on with his life, find an omega he can fall in love with and settle down with. Maybe have some babies that are actually related to him. Talia might appreciate that.

Stiles isn't sure if he'll be able to move on that way. Sure, if Derek declared romantic interest in him Stiles would start dating him in a heartbeat, but that's because it's Derek.

Derek, who's safe and sweet and funny and selfless and somehow still putting up with Stiles' hormone-driven bullshit right now.

Derek likes to say that he's not much different than any other alpha, but Stiles knows that he is. Sure, not every alpha out there is as bad as Theo, but a lot of them are more like him than Derek thinks.

Stiles won't find another alpha like Derek. He's not sure he wants to.

And even if he did find another alpha like Derek, they would just be a pale imitation of the real thing.

***

Derek gets another day off work for Stiles' 20-week appointment. Dr Kaneko is pleased with Stiles' progress, and very kindly doesn't laugh in his face when he complains about his mood-swings and tender spots.

He is indeed growing breasts, which he isn't wild about, but at least all the bras Stiles bought the day his dad took him to Omega Basics won't go to waste. Dr Kaneko assures him that they won't be painful forever, and that they'll shrink back to normal size once he's finished breastfeeding. It's a small consolation.

"It's not the end of the world," Derek pipes up helpfully.

"So you'd be okay if you suddenly started growing tits?" Stiles asks him, eyebrow arched. Derek looks down at himself and then back up, his nose wrinkles cutely.

"Probably not," he admits.

"So, do you have any other concerns?" Dr Kaneko asks in lightly accented English. "Aside from the hormonal issues?"

"Just one thing," Stiles says. "I sometimes get this fluttering feeling in my stomach. Around here." He gestures to his middle, basically referring to the bump. "It's not painful or anything, and it only started in the past couple of days, but it still catches me off-guard sometimes. I thought it was just gas at first, but, uh… turns out that's a different feeling. "

"That's the baby kicking," Dr Kaneko says. Stiles' mouth drops open in shock and he shares a look with Derek, who looks equally stunned. "This is what most people describe baby's first kicks as feeling like. A fluttering sensation."

"I can't believe I didn't realize," Stiles says. He puts a hand on his belly. He doesn't feel anything right now, inside or outside, but the fact that he's been feeling anything at all kinda blows him away a little. It's one thing to see the ultrasound picture and see his belly growing real-time and know that there's a live baby in there.

It's another thing entirely to feel it move. Tangible proof of life.

"A lot of first-time mothers don't," Dr Kaneko says. "It feels so different to what's portrayed in popular media."

"Yeah," Stiles says. "So when will I be able to feel it from the outside?"

"Another couple of weeks," Dr Kaneko says. "You'll be able to feel the difference in strength, Stiles, and then you'll know."

"Amazing," Stiles breathes.

***

"Are you looking to know the sex today, gentlemen?" Today's ultrasound tech is different from the last one. It's another male beta, but this one doesn't seem to be interested in getting into Derek's pants. Although he did give Derek a once-over when he came into the room, so Stiles knows he's attracted, he just isn't an asshole.

"What do you think?" Stiles asks. He's lying on the table and he has to crane his neck to look at Derek standing behind him. Derek just shrugs.

"Up to you," he says.

"It's your baby too," Stiles says. "Unless you changed your mind?"

"No, no," Derek says, shaking his head. "But did you want it to be a surprise?"

"Makes no difference to me," Stiles says. "I'll be raising it to destroy the alpharchy either way. Also, if we get the 'wrong' gender it'll give your mother more time to get over it." Derek rolls his eyes.

"Might as well tell us," he tells the tech. "I think we could do with less surprises in life."

"If you say so," the tech says.

"Well, have at 'er," Stiles says, exposing his belly to the tech.

Everyone's gaze is riveted to the monitor as the tech sweeps the ultrasound wand over Stiles' belly. Stiles gasps when the grainy image of the baby appears, looking more baby-like this time around. Almost fully formed. He reaches a hand out blindly and Derek catches it, squeezing his fingers. The image on the screen changes angles as the tech moves the wand around.

"Well," he says. "There's the head, of course. And the feet. Hands. Aaaannnd..." More shifting and now Stiles can't quite tell what he's looking at. "We have a penis, folks."

"Can't see it, but I'll take your word for it," Stiles says.

"It takes some practise," the tech says. "So I'm not seeing a scrotum here, or anything that looks like a vaginal opening." Stiles and Derek share a look. Derek shrugs. "I'd put my money on male omega."

"Hey, a miniature you," Derek says.

"I'm sure my father will be thrilled," Stiles says. Outside he's joking, but inside he's conflicted.

He won't love his baby - _his son!_ \- any less because he's an omega, and he's sure Derek won't either. But the world they live in still isn't kind to omegas, male or female, and Stiles doesn't want his baby to have to deal with some of the things he's had to.

He vows to himself and the baby, as the tech wipes the ultrasound gel off Stiles' belly, that he will do everything in his power to protect his son. This boy will grow up loved and supported, and god help anyone who tries to undermine that because then they will have to deal with Stiles.

***

***


	17. Chapter 17

Derek's parents (actually, mostly his father) invite him and Stiles over to their house for a family dinner. Derek only doesn't refuse because the whole family will be in attendance, which should help to provide a buffer between Talia and Stiles.

Stiles still seems a bit uneasy as they drive over to the house, though, and Derek doesn't know if he can make him feel better about the whole situation. His mother still hasn't apologized for any of her behaviour, and Derek is honestly expecting that she never will.

They haven't yet told anyone that the baby is a male omega, even if it's been weeks since they found out, Stiles wanting to keep it under wraps as long as they can. They've told people who've asked that the baby is male, but nothing beyond that. Derek is wary of his mother's reaction in particular. She's always prided herself on producing three alpha children, she may not take the news well of an omega joining the family. Laura and Jordan's son is also an alpha.

He really can't believe that he's never noticed this side of his mother before now. He's not sure what to do about it, honestly. He hopes that it won't come down to him having to choose one over the other, because he's pretty sure his mother will have the fit to end all fits if she comes in second to a baby.

Because Derek will choose his son over anyone and anything. Every time.

Derek pulls into the house's driveway and parks behind Laura and Jordan's mini-van. He turns the car off and looks at Stiles.

"You ready?" he asks.

"Not really," Stiles says. "But I might as well get it over with."

"That's the spirit," Derek says. He gets out of the car and walks over to Stiles' side to help him out. He's starting to wonder if the Camaro may not be the best car to be driving a pregnant person around in. Could he even get a baby car seat properly fitted in it? "Cora and Dad promised that Mom would be on her best behaviour."

"I would just settle for decent behaviour," Stiles mutters. The front door of the house opens before Derek and Stiles reach it and they're met by Peter.

"Last chance to turn away," Peter says.

"Peter!" Samuel calls from deeper inside the house. "Stop it!" Peter just rolls his eyes and makes a sweeping gesture with one arm. Derek and Stiles both eye him warily as they enter the house.

"Hey, Peter," Derek says, helping Stiles with his jacket. "How're things here?"

"Everyone's still in once piece so far," Peter says. "Heard the baby's a boy. Congratulations."

"Thanks," Stiles says. "And before you ask, no, we haven't discussed names yet."

"Don't mention that to either Jordan or Talia," Peter says. "Just say you picked one and are keeping it secret. Trust me it's better for everyone this way."

"I don't think Mom is going to be too fussed about the baby's name," Derek says. "I didn't tell her yet that I'm going to be his actual alpha father."

"And she'll be the only one who doesn't see it coming," Peter says, shaking his head.

"Why are you all just standing around in here?" Cora asks, appearing from the direction of the kitchen. "Dad already put out the appetizers."

"Sounds fancy," Stiles says. "Am I underdressed for this?" He looks down at himself. He's wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt with a bowling ball graphic over the stomach area. Derek winces. He'd told Stiles to dress for comfort, which is mostly the only kind of clothes Stiles owns anyway. Maybe at least jeans would've been a better choice. But then, only his mother would really care about something like that, and Derek doesn't feel like putting her snobbery over Stiles' comfort. It's a casual family dinner; they aren't meeting the queen. Stiles' eyes start tearing up and Derek tenses. He doesn't want Stiles to have a hormone-fueled outburst in front of his family, and he's pretty sure Stiles wouldn't want that either.

"Don't worry about it," Cora says, waving a hand in the air. "You're already pregnant. We don't need you being more uncomfortable than you have to be. You could've just shown up in pyjamas and we wouldn't give a shit."

"Your mother would," Stiles points out, wiping at his eyes.

"So?" Cora asks. "Fuck her. Now c'mon. Appetizers. _Nice_ ones. With bacon."

***

Stiles doesn't seem to outwardly react to being in Talia's presence for the first time since the flashback incident more than a month ago. But he doesn't move away from Derek's side either. Even when he has to make his customary multiple trips to the bathroom, Derek goes with him. He seems almost enchanted with Laura and Jordan's son Aaron, who's two, and he chooses a seat near him at the table. Derek is pretty sure that this is the first time he's seen Stiles interact with Jordan without looking like he's two seconds away from flipping a table and storming off.

Progress?

Cora, Derek, Samuel, and Peter all make sure to keep plenty of space between Talia and Stiles. Talia obviously knows what they're doing, if her sour looks are anything to go by, but to her credit she doesn't make any fuss. Hopefully she'll be able to keep herself contained until Derek and Stiles leave to go back home.

All told, the evening is still going fairly smoothly by the time everyone sits down to eat, all settling around the large dining room table. Tonight's menu features lasagna and garlic bread, cooked by Samuel with help from Malia and Isaac. Samuel portions everything out at the head of the table and starts handing out plates of food. Derek loves his father's lasagna and if he were a better cook he'd make it at least once a week.

Maybe it's time that he learns to properly cook now that he has a family of his own. Or, a child, at least. Stiles is still only his omega on paper. So far Derek hasn't gathered up any courage to ask if maybe Stiles would be willing to give things a try for real. Maybe once the baby is born and things have calmed down he can bring it up. Derek isn't sure when exactly the threat of Theo will be gone for good, but once that happens then Stiles won't _need_ to be married to Derek, so he'll be in a better position to be able to choose free and clear whether he might want to date Derek.

Conversation floats around the table as people start eating. Derek notices that Stiles doesn't speak unless spoken to, and seems mostly content to just eat and listen. Derek wishes he'd speak up more, maybe start his own conversation thread. But he knows why he isn't, and why he won't.

"So, Stiles," Jordan pipes up when there's a lull in the talking, "Cora says that you wouldn't be interested in a baby shower."

"Yeah, I'd rather not," Stiles says.

"I don't see why not," Malia says, further down the table. "You get free stuff out of it."

"Like I told Cora: do one for Derek," Stiles says, fiddling nervously with his fork.

"Derek's an alpha," Jordan says. "He wouldn't be interested in that kind of thing."

"I'm not interested either," Stiles says. He takes a large bite of lasagna and chews it aggressively.

"Did you start getting anything for the baby yet?" Cora asks. "As annoying as baby showers are, Malia's right about the free stuff part."

"I've been looking online," Stiles mumbles. Derek's apartment is currently devoid of baby items aside from the cradle and rocking chair that Samuel had brought over. He briefly wonders if he should be worried about that. Although, Stiles still has a little over four or so months left to go. That's still plenty of time. Though he remembers Laura and Jordan – and even Talia and Samuel - started buying clothes almost immediately after they found out that Jordan was pregnant.

"Pro-tip," Laura pipes up. "You can never have enough diapers. And those omega lifestyle magazines always have coupons for baby stuff. Look those up because baby supplies can get pretty pricey." Stiles blinks at her in confusion. Derek would be willing to bet that Stiles has never even picked up such a magazine before in his life.

"We can check them out next time we go grocery shopping," Derek says.

"Another money-saver is breastfeeding," Jordan says. Stiles' cheeks flush red and he hunches his shoulders. His new breasts, although not particularly big, are obvious through the cotton of his t-shirt. He's been wearing sports bras for the past couple of weeks, which go a long way to alleviate any pain, but also do lot to emphasize the breast shape. Stiles doesn't like them, and he doesn't like people drawing attention to them.

"Can we not talk about that while I'm eating?" Malia asks, scowling.

"Why don't we leave the baby talk for later, hm?" Samuel asks. "Another topic, please."

"Would anyone like to hear about how I helped get someone fired for inappropriate contact with animals?" Peter asks.

"No!" Several people exclaim at once. Stiles looks intrigued, but Derek shakes his head at him.

"Stiles, how's the webcomic gig going?" Cora asks. "If you're not too busy I might have another client for you."

"I still can't believe you're _still_ working," Jordan mutters, tearing a piece of garlic bread into smaller pieces for Aaron. "I'm sure Derek makes and has enough to support the both of you." Derek does, in fact, have enough money to support both him and Stiles. They've maintained their separate finances since the beginning, and Derek gets the feeling that Stiles feels more secure having his own source of income. Also he seems to actually enjoy doing the work.

"Send me the contact info, Cora," Stiles says, ignoring Jordan. "I'll look into it."

"I wonder if you could actually make a career out of this," Derek says.

"If I could it would make my degree worth it," Stiles says. He's stopped eating. Derek glances at his plate and finds it still half-full. He also notices Stiles rubbing the side of his belly under the table. He hopes he isn't feeling sick.

"What did you go to college for, Stiles?" Samuel asks.

"Graphic design," Stiles says.

"And how are you expecting to pay off your student loans?" Talia asks, which is the first thing she's said to Stiles all evening. Peter opens his mouth to say something and Derek shoots him a death glare. Peter smirks at him.

"Christ," Cora mutters.

"I don't have any," Stiles says, looking down at his plate. "I got a partial scholarship and the rest was covered by a fund my father had set up when I was a kid."

"That's lucky," Laura says. Stiles gives her a tight smile and picks up his garlic bread to start nibbling on it. He's still rubbing his belly. Maybe he has heartburn? Derek considers cutting the evening short.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "If I'd had to pay for any of it out of pocket I wouldn't have been able to finish."

"It is hard for some people to juggle work and college at the same time," Samuel says.

"It's even harder without a support system," Stiles says, and then doesn't elaborate. Before anyone can comment on that, Aaron, who has been fairly quiet and well-behaved so far, suddenly pushes his plate off his highchair tray. It falls to the floor, spattering lasagna and garlic bread crusts around, and Aaron laughs.

"Dammit," Laura says. She and Jordan jump up.

"Hold on, I'll get something to wipe that up with," Samuel says, getting up and disappearing into the kitchen. Jordan removes a giggling Aaron from the highchair and disappears upstairs with him while Laura helps Samuel clean up the mess.

"Look forward to that in a few years," Peter says to Derek.

***

Derek and Stiles decide to leave as soon as everyone finishes eating, skipping out on dessert (which is slightly disappointing because Jordan made it and he makes great desserts). But the evening had gone surprisingly well, Talia had even behaved, and Derek figures they should cut out early while everyone is still in a good mood. Before something happens to ruin things.

Stiles looks a bit worn out as Derek leads him out of the house, throwing goodbyes over his shoulder. He's still rubbing his side as they walk down the driveway to the car.

"You want to get ice cream on the way home?" Derek asks as they settle into the Camaro.

"Sure," Stiles says. "Since we're skipping out on dessert."

"Did you want to stay for Jordan's dessert instead?" Derek asks. "We can leave after that if you want."

"No," Stiles says. "I think I'm done with the peopleing for now. I like most of your family, but they can be a lot all at once."

"Yeah, I get it," Derek says. "Is something wrong, by the way? You keep rubbing your stomach. Is it hurting?"

"No, it's..." Stiles says. "I'm not sure, but... here." He reaches over and grabs Derek's nearest wrist, dragging his hand towards him. Derek goes completely still as Stiles places his hand flat on his belly. This is the first time that Derek has touched Stiles' belly. He's never asked before, and Stiles has never offered.

"What--" Derek cuts himself off when he feels a nudge against his hand. He looks down with wide eyes.

"Did you feel that?" Stiles asks.

"Yeah," Derek breathes. "Was that...?"

"Yeah," Stiles says, smiling. "I thought I could feel it on my hand, but I wasn't sure I wasn't just feeling it from the inside and then projecting it."

"That's him," Derek says. He feels the nudge again. "Oh my god."

"That's him," Stiles agrees. Derek's lips split in a wide smile and he looks up at Stiles' face to see a matching smile. He looks back down. The baby doesn't seem to be kicking anymore, or it's kicking in a different area, but Derek still stares at Stiles' belly in awe.

He remembers Jordan letting him feel when he was pregnant with Aaron, and Derek had been amazed at that when it happened. That was further proof to Derek that there was actually something alive in that big bump. Before that, Derek had always pictured babies lying still in the womb, as if they were sleeping the whole time. Then he found out different.

He feels the same amazement now with Stiles, but so much more than that too. He feels excited and awed and terrified and exhilarated and a whole host of other things. It's really starting to hit home that there's an actual person growing inside of Stiles. A tiny little person that will soon come out into the world and develop likes, dislikes, and a personality. A tiny little person who will depend on Stiles and Derek for everything from food to clothes to love.

Derek can't wait to meet him.

***

***


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mild cw for kate argent, though her story is pretty tame here compared to canon

Derek is enamoured with Stiles' belly.

Every couple of minutes, whenever they're together, Derek will sometimes stop what he's doing and look over to smile at Stiles' belly. And if Stiles asks if he wants to feel the baby kick, Derek will immediately drop whatever he's doing and rush over.

It's actually kind of adorable.

Stiles can't wait to see what Derek will look like when the baby's actually here for him to interact with. He's going to be an extremely doting father, Stiles can tell.

***

Someone knocks on the apartment door a little before lunchtime. Stiles, working at the kitchen table, looks up at the sound. He isn't expecting anyone over today, and Derek hadn't mentioned anyone coming by.

Another round of knocking.

Curious, Stiles gets up and tiptoes over to the door (not that easy at 24 weeks pregnant, but he manages) as quietly as he can. He checks that the door is locked and carefully puts on the chain lock, just in case. Then he looks through the peephole.

There's a woman standing on the other side of the door. Stiles doesn't recognize her. He studies her, but still recognition doesn't come.

She seems to be on the shorter side, with dark hair and eyes. Her face is slightly round and Stiles can confidently say that she's cute. She's wearing a deep red hoodie with a white stylized 'A' on the front. It seems vaguely familiar, but Stiles can't put his finger on why. Either way, this woman is a stranger and Stiles is not opening the door.

He backs away quietly and retreats into his bedroom.

The woman knocks a few more times, but after a while everything is quiet.

Stiles is unsettled.

***

Stiles has to let Derek into the apartment when he comes home that evening. The chain lock can't be opened from the outside.

"Did something happen?" Derek asks once he's inside.

"Not really," Stiles says. "There was someone knocking on the door earlier, some stranger. So I just put the lock on just in case."

"It wasn't a parcel delivery or anything, was it?" Derek asks.

"She wasn't wearing a uniform," Stiles says. "And I'm not expecting anything. Well, nothing aside from the kid here." He pats his belly. Derek smiles, then frowns.

"It was a woman?" He asks.

"Yeah," Stiles says.

"What did she look like?"

"Ah..." Stiles thinks back. "Brown-ish hair. Probably brown eyes. Kinda cute-looking. Like, small animal cute. Short?"

"Okay," Derek says. Then frowns.

"What?" Stiles asks.

"You know Allison Argent, right?" Derek asks.

"Yeah, from high school," Stiles says. "She dated Scott for a bit. It wasn't her. Plus I'm pretty sure her family moved to France, or something. Scott had mentioned that once, when we were in college."

"Yeah, the whole family moved," Derek says. "After the thing with Kate. I don't know if you ever heard about that?" Stiles shakes his head.

"I know the name. She's Allison's... aunt?" Derek nods. "Aunt. Don't think I ever met her. What happened with her?"

"Let's go in and sit down and I'll tell you," Derek says. "It's a bit of a story." Stiles leads the way to the living room couch and they sit down side-by-side.

"So, first things first, nothing bad actually ended up happening," Derek says. "Just want to get that out of the way. But a lot could've happened so it might be upsetting to hear. Also this might also explain a bit of why my mother is so uptight about this whole situation."

"Okay," Stiles says. 'Uptight' Isn't the word he'd use to describe Talia Hale, but he keeps that to himself. He's sure Derek knows his feelings already though.

"So I met Kate my first year of college," Derek says. "She's Allison's aunt but she's actually not that much older than us. It's kinda like with Peter where there's a large age gap between Allison's dad and Kate."

"Well, Peter's pretty old. He has a kid our age," Stiles points out.

"She was born when he was a teenager," Derek says. "Kate is younger than him, though. Anyway, we were in college together but not in the same year. And we started dating. I thought it was going good, but she broke up with me after the year was over because she was graduating and didn't want a boyfriend that was still in school. It sucked for a bit, but I mean, I think our relationship was more about sex than anything else.

"Come to find out that was because I was actually her side-piece. She was actually engaged to another alpha at the time who was attending university out of state."

"Yikes," Stiles says.

"Yeah," Derek says. "It wasn't a romance for the age between us, but that still hurt. Anyway, I was pretty angry about that so I completely cut contact with her. Which she didn't appreciate. I didn't hear from her for a while so I figured that was that and we'd both move on. But then she reached out to my parents with a story about how her fiancé found out about her relationship with me and was either threatening her because of it or threatening me. I'm not quite sure of the specifics, it was a bit convoluted and I just heard it second-hand from my parents."

"Wow," Stiles says.

"Anyway, she asked for money from them," Derek says. "Like, a lot of money. Something about helping her escape or she would go to the police saying that _I_ put her in danger."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Stiles says. "And isn't the Argent family loaded anyway?"

"Yeah," Derek says. "The Hales and the Argents are, like, Beacon Hills old money, only without the social standing. So my parents refused to give her any money, obviously, but instead of going to the police Kate went to the newspaper and told them this weird story about how me and my family had ruined her life and were basically throwing her out and leaving her to die. Playing the 'poor omega' card, my mom called it."

"Distressed innocent act?" Stiles asks. He shivers a bit at the memory of Talia Hale confronting him at the Hale house. Derek throws an arm over his shoulders and Stiles gratefully snuggles into his side.

"Yeah, basically. Anyway, that went sideways because my family is one of the newspaper here's biggest donors. So they called my parents to see what was up, 'cause they're not just gonna run a story like that about one of their biggest money sources, and my mom kinda lost it a bit. The story didn't run, obviously, but my mom was furious about it and went to have it out with Gerard Argent, which would be Kate's father. I don't know what was said there, but when she came back she said that the situation had been resolved and Kate was no longer an issue."

"What, did they have her killed?" Stiles asks.

"They booked her on the earliest flight to France so she could  go  live with relatives," Derek says. "Apparently her life was kinda falling apart a bit, through her own poor choices, nothing to do with me but apparently me cutting her off was the last straw and I was the easiest target."

"That's pretty wild," Stiles says.

"Yep," Derek says. "And then she tried to set my car on fire."

"She _what_!?" Stiles exclaims.

"I wasn't in it at the time !" Derek quickly assures him. "She planted some kind of… the cops called it an incendiary device, under my car while I was in class. I'd gone back to university at this point. Literally on her way to be shipped off to France, she stopped by my school to set my car on fire. The thing never went off though, thank god, and one of the campus security guards actually found it after I'd left for the day."

"That is nuts," Stiles says. "So you thought that might be her at the door? Wouldn't she have gone to prison for something like that? That's gotta be attempted murder at _least_."

"I don't know a whole lot about the legal side of what happened because I was just done by that point," Derek says. "But Peter let me know that she went with some kind of insanity plea and claimed that, I dunno, her fragile omega mind couldn't handle how her life was falling apart so she snapped, or something. I dunno. Someone bought it anyway because she was sentenced to a mental institution for a bit and then was released."

"So she can be anywhere now?" Stiles asks. He'd never imagined that Derek had his own Theo out there somewhere.

"She's still in France; she isn't allowed to leave the country," Derek says. "Peter gave himself the job of keeping tabs on her. He gets good intel because he deals directly with Kate's brother Chris. And Chris is, like, the only decent person in the whole bunch, according to Peter."

"And Peter hasn't mentioned Chris saying anything to him about Kate being back?" Stiles asks.

"Nope," Derek says. "And he'd say something. Especially now that I have you and the baby." Stiles smiles to himself. Derek has him. He puts the thought aside for now.

"So what does Kate look like?" he asks.

"Back when I knew her she had long blond hair and was maybe average height," Derek says. "And no one would ever say she was 'small animal cute'."

"So that most likely wasn't her at the door," Stiles says.

"No," Derek agrees. "Probably someone with the wrong address or a religious recruiter or something. Nothing too exciting. Anyway, how do you feel about grilled cheese sandwiches for supper? We should probably eat that bread before it goes bad." The baby suddenly delivers a kick to Stiles' side. Stiles immediately grabs Derek's hand to let him feel. The baby kicks a few more times and Derek gets the same enchanted expression he gets whenever Stiles lets him feel it.

"Baby agrees," Stiles says.

***  
***


	19. Chapter 19

Laura agrees to take Derek shopping for baby things.

"I know this'll be mostly Stiles' job later," Laura tells Derek as she leads him into the Babys 'R Us store in downtown Beacon Hills, "but you might as well put in some effort now so he can't complain later that you never did anything for him."

"What?" Derek asks, frowning at her. They pause to grab a cart and Laura just rolls her eyes at him.

"Omegas sometimes like to keep score like that," she says. "Jordan does it too. Like I don't already pull my own weight around the house by, you know, _paying_ for it." She walks off with the cart, missing the look of disgust that crosses Derek's face. He's never heard his sister say anything like that before.

Although, he'd never noticed his mother's omega bias before either. He's not sure if it's because they weren't as obvious about it before, or if being with Stiles has caused him to open his eyes and actually notice the less obvious sexism within his own family. Or maybe he did notice and just didn't think about it because he didn't think it was relevant to him.

Would he be reacting this way if he hadn't heard Stiles' story of how the really big issues always start out with smaller things like Laura's comments?

He'd like to think he would.

"Hurry up, Derek!" Laura calls over her shoulder. "Don't get left behind in here." Derek shakes his head to clear it and hurries to catch up with his sister, who is standing in the middle of the main aisle flipping through an in-store flier. Other shoppers, mostly omegas, give her dirty looks as they navigate around her, but no one says anything.

"You're in people's way here," Derek says.

"Relax, I'll move soon," Laura says. "So there's a sale on onesies that seems decent. And the wipes are also on sale. And some jarred baby food, but you won't need that for a while. What do you have already at the apartment?"

"Just the cradle and rocking chair," Derek says.

"That is pitiful, Derek," Laura says. "You're not being a very good provider, I must say."

"Shut up," Derek grumbles. "This is a weird situation anyway. You know that."

"Do you honestly think that Stiles is really gonna divorce you?" Laura asks, giving Derek a look. "He's got it good where he is right now. He has free housing, he's back in Beacon Hills where his father is, and you cover all his expenses. Why would he give that up?"

"Stiles doesn't look at it like that," Derek says. "He's not trying to take advantage of me, trust me."

"If you say so," Laura says. Derek wants to hit her. Instead he just lets her lead him through the store while he quietly stews. He and his sister are too old now to be getting into scraps in public.

Derek has never been in an actual baby store before, he's never had a reason to be. He's a bit overwhelmed with the amount of things babies seem to need. For someone only used to WalMart's paltry baby section, this is insane.

"Jordan ordered Aaron's highchair online because he apparently just needed this specific fancy one," Laura says as they pause by a display of highchairs. "Do you have an opinion on them, or are you just leaving it to Stiles?"

"We're gonna look at the bigger items together and decide from there," Derek says. "Right now I just want to get some basic things to get us started - is that a _whole aisle_ of _formula_!?" He and Laura turn into another aisle which is, in fact, full of many different kinds of formula. "Why is there so many?"

"Different brands," Laura says. "Different, I dunno, recipes. Jordan completely ignored the stuff so I don't know much about it. Isn't Stiles breastfeeding? Might as well put those tits to use if he's bothering to grow them."

"Laura!" Derek snaps.

"I'm just saying," Laura says with a shrug. Derek should've come with Cora. Even if neither of them would've had absolutely no idea what to do with half the options in here, at least Cora wouldn't make comments like this about Stiles.

"Can I help you?" They're both suddenly approached by a store employee. A female beta who's giving them a mildly amused look. Alphas are probably the minority customers in a store like this, especially two alphas together.

"No thanks," Laura tells the employee. "We can probably manage. And we don't need anything from this aisle."

"But what if we do?" Derek asks. "People must buy this stuff a lot if there's a whole aisle of it."

"People buy formula for a variety of reasons," the employee says. "Were you looking for anything in particular?"

"I think my husband is planning on breastfeeding," Derek says. "So I'm honestly not sure."

"If you aren't sure yet, our website has a guide for all the types of formula we carry," the employee says. "You and your husband can have a look at it and decide from there. The site also includes reviews from other customers. We've found it to be a very reliable resource."

"Thanks, we'll try that," Derek says. He nudges Laura to get her moving along. "Let's go look at clothes or something. That shouldn't be complicated. What did you say was on sale? Onesies?"

***

Stiles boggles at the amount of shopping bags Derek and Laura show up at the apartment with.

"You said you were only getting a few things for the baby," he says.

"There were a lot of things," Derek says defensively. He honestly hadn't planned on getting as much as he had. He can admit to himself that he might've gone a bit overboard. The final total after everything had been rung up had even surprised Laura.

"Imagine what he had to leave behind," Laura comments. She sets her bags down on the floor inside the door while Derek takes his over to the living room couch. "Anyway, I have to get back. I'm on babysitting duty this afternoon. Jordan says he needs a break." She leaves after one last eyeroll in Derek's direction. Stiles frowns at the closed door.

"Did she seriously just refer to taking care of her own child as babysitting?" He asks.

"She's always been like that," Derek says.

"Unbelievable," Stiles says, shaking his head. Then he turns on Derek. "Also, what is all this?"

"Baby stuff?" Derek says. "I mean, we don't really have anything right now. I thought I'd fix that. Better to be prepared, right?"

"You said you were getting a few things," Stiles says, kneeling down to check out the bags Laura had left on the floor. "This is more than a few things."

"It's not like we won't use it all eventually," Derek says. "And I didn't get any big things. Or formula. I guess the website has reviews?" Stiles looks up at Derek from his spot on the floor. He seems a bit overwhelmed. Derek joins him, sitting cross-legged next to him.

"This is a lot of money," Stiles says.

"You know I'm good for it," Derek says.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "Is this bag all onesies?"

"They were on sale," Derek says.

***

The sheriff and Natalie stop by for a visit later that evening. Derek is mildly embarrassed at their amusement at just how much he'd bought today, but he reminds himself to not feel bad about it because he'd provided for his baby, like he's supposed to.

"I hate to do this to you, kid," the sheriff says, "but you probably got more newborn sized-diapers than you'll need." Derek eyes the three boxes of diapers he'd bought, all sized 'newborn'.

"But babies go through diapers quick, don't they?" He asks.

"Yeah, but they also grow pretty quick," the sheriff says. He laughs at whatever expression Derek's making and slaps him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, you can probably sell them on the Facebook if you have to."

"He got different sized onesies," Stiles says. He and Natalie are sitting on the couch and sorting through the onesies, and other assorted outfits Derek had decided that the baby had to wear. "Look at this one! It's adorable!" He holds up a one-piece sleeper with a hood with bear ears. It's deep brown and has a little fake bowtie in the neck area where the zipper ends.

"He has a good eye," the sheriff says.

"Did he get any baby washing detergent?" Natalie asks, ripping a tag off a set of white onesies.

"It's next to the washing machine," Derek says, pointing in the direction of the closet-like room where the washing machine and clothes dryer live.

"You certainly picked yourself a good one, Stiles," Natalie comments. Stiles blushes bright red and fidgets with the onesie he's folding.

"Yeah, he's pretty great," he says. Now it's Derek's turn to blush.

"Come on," the sheriff says, clapping Derek on the shoulder. "I'll help you stack the diapers and wipes out of the way until you get some kind of dresser or change table for it. That's a hell of a lot of wipes, too."

"They were on sale," Derek says.

***

Derek finally gets Stiles to agree to look at baby furniture with him about a week after the initial shopping trip. They sit together on the couch with Derek's laptop, but Stiles is still a bit antsy.

"There's not a lot of room here for a full nursery," he says. "This place only has two bedrooms and they're both occupied."

"Stiles," Derek says. "We'll figure it out. I don't think the kid's gonna notice where we've put his stuff as long as we can use it." Derek doesn't invite Stiles to share his bedroom. That would be crossing several lines.

"Back when I imagined what it would be like when I finally started having children," Stiles says, "I have to say that I wasn't picturing all this."

"Neither was I, honestly," Derek says. "But it is what it is now and I say we make the best of it. You'll need the furniture either way."

"I guess," Stiles says. They've just started looking at changing tables (Stiles internally swearing at the price range) when there's a knock at the door. The two of them share a look. Stiles shrugs. Derek gets up from the couch and crosses the room to the door and looks through the peephole.

There's a short dark-haired woman in the hallway.

"Stiles." Derek waves Stiles over and gestures for him to come over and look through the peephole, which he does.

"That's the woman from before," Stiles whispers. Derek frowns. He nudges Stiles behind him and engages the chain lock before opening the door. The woman, who could indeed be called 'small animal cute', smiles at Derek through the opening. Another thing that Derek notes is that this woman is an alpha, which he'd never have guessed by her looks since she's so slight.

"Hi," she says brightly. "I'm looking for Stiles Stilinski." Derek looks behind him at Stiles, who just shrugs. The woman spots Stiles over Derek's shoulder and her smile grows even wider. "Hi, Stiles!"

"Hi?" Stiles says hesitantly. "Um, sorry. I don't think I know you?"

"Oh, I know," the woman says. "It's been so difficult trying to work around everyone's schedules. But it really shouldn't have taken this long, I am so sorry for that. You must think I don't care at all, but I assure you I am one hundred percent onboard with everything and I am fully prepared." Derek feels Stiles clutching at the back of his shirt and his scent is carrying a faint note of panic.

"Um, sorry, I still don't know what's going on," Stiles says.

"For the baby?" The woman asks. "I'm totally, 100% invested. All the i's dotted and t's crossed. I know we're only meeting now, but Theo tells me that he's got everything taken care of. But I still wanted to thank you in person." Derek immediately stiffens and his shirt goes slack as Stiles lets go. Derek hears him take a few stumbling steps back, out of sight of the woman in the hallway.

"Who are you?" Derek barks at the woman, who seems taken aback by his tone.

"Ainsley," she says. "Ainsley Raeken, Theo's wife."

***

***


	20. Chapter 20

Stiles jolts at the sound of the door slamming shut and immediately starts panicking. He turns and runs through the apartment until he can close himself up in his bedroom, huddled on the floor on the other side of the bed.

He has no idea what is happening right now.

Since when does Theo have a _wife_!? And what is she doing _here_!?

It starts getting harder to breathe. He doesn't even have enough air to scream when there's knocking on his bedroom door.

"Stiles!" It's Derek. Stiles struggles to his feet and rushes to the door, but he hesitates before opening it. "It's just me, Stiles, it's fine. I'm calling your dad. Open the door."

The door isn't locked. It doesn't have a lock.

Stiles twists the knob and opens the door. Derek rushes in, his phone to his ear in one hand and the other hand reaching out and pulling Stiles to him. Stiles presses himself against Derek as much as his belly will allow. Angry pheromones are mixing with panicked ones and Stiles gets a bit lightheaded.

Though that could also be because he's still not getting enough air in.

"Sheriff," Derek barks into the phone. "There's a woman here claiming to be Theo Raeken's wife. I need her gone." Stiles' knees go weak and Derek has to help hold him upright.

"D'rek," he slurs out.

"Stiles?" Derek asks. "Shit!"

Then everything goes black.

***

Stiles wakes up in time to hear a loud crash and footsteps pounding down the apartment hallway in his direction.

He screams in terror.

"Stiles, shh, it's okay. You're safe." Derek's voice. Stiles claps a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet. He takes quick stock of the situation and finds that he's in his bedroom on the floor in Derek's lap. He doesn't know how long he's been out for. And he doesn't know who the rushing footsteps belong to until the sheriff, Cora, and Isaac appear in the bedroom door way .

"Stiles!" The sheriff exclaims. He drops to his knees on the floor beside Derek. He reaches out with shaking hands and Stiles lets him caress his hair. "Are you alright?"

"Where is she?" Stiles asks with a shaky voice. His gaze darts between everyone crowding the room. "Where's that woman?"

"I had her taken to the station," the sheriff says. "She won't bother you now. We'll get to the bottom of this."

"H- how did she know to come here?" Stiles asks. "Does Theo know where I live?"

"I don't know," the sheriff admits. "But you can't stay here. You and Derek pack some stuff and come over to the house. You'll stay with us until we get this sorted out."

"Okay," Stiles says. Derek and the sheriff help Stiles to his feet, but his legs won't hold him up so they sit him on the bed. Cora and Isaac sit down on either side of him, sandwiching him between them, as the sheriff and Derek throw some clothes and toiletries in a duffel bag.

"How did he know to send her here?" Stiles asks.

"I don't know, but we'll find out," Cora says darkly.

"I think she wanted the baby," Stiles says, voice shaking. His teeth are chattering. He wraps his arms tightly around his belly. "Theo knows about the baby."

"We always knew that was a possibility," Cora tries to soothe him. "We prepared for this. It doesn't matter what Theo knows. The baby is Derek's and Theo can't touch it."

"The baby is Derek's," Stiles repeats. Regardless of DNA, the baby became Derek's as soon as he and Stiles signed that marriage certificate. Stiles is Derek's omega, legally, so his baby also belongs to Derek.

And it's even more now, because Derek is excited about this baby. He thinks of him as  _ his _ son. He's already providing for him and working to make a home for him. This baby is Derek's in all the ways that matter. Stiles knows that Derek's drive to protect isn't because he doesn't want Theo taking away his legal property, It's because he doesn't want Theo taking away his family.

Much higher stakes.

***

Samuel and Peter are waiting at the sheriff's house with Natalie when Stiles arrives.

They're both grim-faced as Derek helps Stiles to the closest armchair and sets him down in it. Derek makes to get up and move away, but Stiles has his hand in a death grip. Derek props himself on the arm of the chair and gives Stiles' hand a squeeze. Stiles presses his face into Derek's side and breathes, smelling Derek's familiar laundry detergent, deodorant, and sweat.

"All this excitement isn't going to send him into early labour, is it?" Peter asks. Stiles peeks out past Derek's shirt to see Peter standing a little ways away from the arm chair, studying the two of them.

"No," Samuel says. "And stop that." Peter raises his hands in a calming gesture and then sits down on one of the couches. The sheriff passes by in the background and goes up the stairs, Derek's duffel bag in his hand. The front door opens and shuts and then Cora and Isaac walk into the room. Natalie appears from the direction of the kitchen and brings over a glass of water for Stiles, which Derek has to help him with because Stiles' hands are shaking too much.

"So has anyone seen Theo around?" Cora asks the room at large. Everyone looks at each other, a collective 'no' sounds out.

"Even if he's been around," Peter says, sitting back on the couch with his arms spread across the back, "he wouldn't have had much opportunity to see Stiles out and about." Which is a fair point since Stiles has rarely left the apartment much in the past couple of months. And even less lately as he's gotten bigger.

"I'll need the names of all Theo's friends," the sheriff says, coming back into the room. "Maybe he still has contact with them. And I'll be checking with his family."

"I don't know that Theo was particularly close with anyone in school," Derek says. "Maybe Matt Daehler, but I'm pretty sure he's in jail right now."

"Well it's not like it would be a huge leap to figure that Stiles would come back to his hometown after he escaped," Peter points out. "All it would take is Theo seeing him the once and then biding his time."

"But he wouldn't think to find him at Derek's," Cora says.

"Unless he saw him with Derek," Peter says. "Also they're literally married. It's not impossible that he got that info from somewhere, saw Stiles in town, and put two and two together."

"I..." Stiles says, and then cringes back when everyone in the room turns to him.

"What?" Derek asks softly, rubbing a hand on Stiles' back between his shoulders. Stiles leans into the touch and gathers his nerve.

"I don't think Theo knows I married Derek," he says. "That woman, Ainsley? She asked for Stiles Stilinski. My name is Stiles Hale now. That's what I've been using since the wedding. Even at the OB appointments, I'm registered as a Hale."

"So however or wherever he's getting his information," Samuel says, "it's not that accurate."

"So that rules out anyone in the family," Peter says. "Or anyone who knows about the wedding."

"It probably really is just that he came into town once, happened to see Stiles and Derek together, and decided to look Derek up," Samuel says.

"Well..." Derek says. "Is Scott still in contact with Theo?" Stiles stiffens. Surely, _surely_ , Scott wouldn't have ratted him out to Theo a second time.

"No," Stiles whimpers, gripping tighter to Derek's hand.

"Has Scott been in contact with you?" Peter asks.

"That's right," the sheriff says. "He ran into you guys in the mall. A couple of weeks after the wedding."

"And that seemed like enough interesting information to relay back to Theo?" Peter asks, arching an eyebrow.

"We were looking at maternity clothes," Derek says. There are tears coursing down Stiles' cheeks now and he's holding in his sobs as best he can. Once he starts, he knows he won't be able to stop for a while because he just knows in his bones, in his _heart_ , that Scott has betrayed him. Again. Derek slides down off the arm of the chair and onto his knees on the floor. This way, he can wipe at Stiles' wet face and make shushing noises.

"But why?" Samuel asks.

"We can't be sure that it's him," the sheriff says, though there's a spark of anger in his eyes. "I'll get in touch with Melissa McCall, see if she knows anything. Stiles and Derek, you two stay here. If Theo doesn't know that Stiles and Derek are married, then he'll think that I have the most authority over Stiles as his father. Chances are that'll be enough to keep him away from here."

"An easier way to keep him from coming around is to break his legs," Cora says.

"Cora," Samuel warns.

"No, no," Peter says. "She has a point."

"Peter!" Samuel exclaims.

"Let's all settle down," the sheriff says. "Derek, take Stiles upstairs please. I'm going back to station to see what this Ainsley woman has to say. Everybody else can go do whatever. Do _not_ try to get in touch with Scott McCall, I will handle that as well."

"C'mon," Derek says softly. He rises to his feet and helps Stiles out of the chair. He keeps one arm around Stiles' waist as he leads him out of the living room and up the stairs. Stiles points out his bedroom and Derek walks him over.

Stiles' bedroom looks pretty much the same now as it had when he left at 18. Obviously it's been regularly cleaned since he's been gone, but nothing much has been moved. Even in the time between when Stiles came back to when he moved in with Derek, he hadn't messed with anything. Stiles wonders if Derek is curious into this glimpse of Stiles' past life.

Though at the moment Derek seems more interested in getting Stiles settled onto the bed. Stiles is surprised, but pleased, when Derek climbs into the bed with Stiles unprompted. Stiles is turned to face the wall and Derek spoons up behind him, an arm over Stiles' waist holding him in place against Derek's chest.

It should probably be uncomfortable, because this isn't really something they do, but it isn't.

It's comforting. And it's safe.

Which is why Stiles is now able to let go of his grip on his feelings about Scott and cry until he has no more tears left.

It takes a while.

***

***


	21. Chapter 21

Derek hates to leave Stiles alone while the threat of Theo is more pressing now than it's ever been, but he has some things that need doing and he'd rather Stiles be safe at the sheriff's instead of being out in the open.

In the morning, after Stiles had cried himself to sleep the night before, Derek makes sure that Stiles is alright to be left alone in the house with Natalie. He leaves them both in the kitchen, Natalie drinking coffee and Stiles picking at a slice of toast, and heads out the door.

The sheriff is at the station, and Derek finds Peter sitting in his car in front of the house. Peter rolls down his window as Derek approaches the car.

"Have you been here all night?" Derek asks.

"No, only since the sheriff left this morning," Peter says.

"I don't imagine anything happened out here?" Derek asks.

"Not a thing," Peter says. "Can't imagine people get up to much on this street when they have the sheriff in their midst."

"Are you gonna stay here all day?" Derek asks.

"I'll stay until you get back," Peter says. "I doubt Theo will actually show up, though."

"His wife did," Derek says.

"The wife is a bit of a mystery," Peter says. "It seems like Stiles had no idea she existed, even though he was dating her husband for the past five years."

"Knowing what I do about Theo, I can believe that he'd keep a wife and Stiles a secret from each other for who knows how long," Derek says. "Bit weird that she's an alpha though." Stiles hadn't mentioned Theo being gay. Or maybe bi. Possibly he never knew.

"It will certainly be interesting to see what she has to say," Peter says.

"Really, though," Derek says. "Anyway I'd better head out. The sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back."

***

Derek's first stop is the library.

"Hale, you're late!" Yael calls over as soon as Derek walks through the doors. He's standing behind the front desk sorting through a pile of books.

"And I'm not staying," Derek says. He approaches the desk.

"Is everything alright?" Holly asks, appearing from the office.

"No," Derek says, and then launches into his prepared story. "Stiles is having some complications and his doctor put him on bedrest. We're staying at his father's place right now, but his father, y'know, the sheriff, has to work long hours so I need to stick close to home to keep an eye on Stiles. I'm not sure how long I'll need to be off for, but I have to be off definitely starting today."

"Wow, sounds serious," Yael says.

"Yeah," Derek says. "Very. So I'll call when I know more. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, man," Yael says. "Go on back. Let us know how everything turns out."

"Will do," Derek says.

"Derek," Holly says just as Derek turns to go. He turns his head back to face her. "Make sure you look after yourself too. You're looking a little… wound up."

"I'll be okay," Derek says. "We've rallied the troops so we're both being well looked after."

***

Next stop is the apartment.

Derek lets himself in and that's when he notices that the chain lock has been broken. He frowns at it, suddenly thankful that he owns his apartment and doesn't have a landlord to answer to. Although that also means he'll have to replace it himself. A problem for another time.

He finds another duffel bag and gathers a few more things that he hadn't thought of the night before in his rush. He's not sure how long they'll be staying with the sheriff, so he gets a few more bits of clothing for him and Stiles, along with some of the baby stuff.

Hopefully they'll be back home before the baby comes, but that really depends on what danger Theo will present at the time.

After another look around the apartment, in which Derek grabs his and Stiles' laptops and the charge cables for their phones, Derek removes the remains of the chain lock from the door and throws it in the garbage. Then he leaves, locking the door behind him and then double-checking.

He's pretty sure Theo wouldn't stoop to trying to break into the apartment, especially when no one is home, but he'd rather not take any chances.

***

By the time he makes it to the police station, the sheriff has already gone home, so that's where Derek goes. Peter's car is gone and Derek guesses that the sheriff must've sent him home.

Natalie lets him into the house with a finger held to her lips.

"Stiles is napping in the living room," she says. Derek nods in understanding and does his best to walk quietly. He heads upstairs first to drop off the duffel bag, then he goes down to the living room. The sheriff is sitting in an armchair facing the TV, which is playing an old movie Derek only vaguely recognizes, but really watching Stiles.

Stiles is stretched out on the couch, fast asleep, wearing one of Derek's shirts. He's on his side with one arm tucked protectively over his belly. Derek turns a questioning look on the sheriff.

"He didn't want to sleep alone upstairs," the sheriff says. "How was your morning?"

"Fine," Derek says. "I'm off work as long as I need to be. And I got some extra things from the apartment."

"You gonna be okay without the pay for however long this takes?" the sheriff asks.

"Yeah, I'm good," Derek says. "I have plenty of savings." Quite a lot of savings since his parents have been putting money away for him since he was a baby, but he doesn't say that out loud. Large amounts of money tend to make things weird with people, Derek has learned over the years.

See: his mother.

"I don't think anything is going to really come of this situation in particular," the sheriff says. "But this'll probably set Stiles back somewhat so that's going to be an issue."

"What makes you say that?" Derek asks. "That nothing is going to come of this. You talked to Theo's wife, right?"

"Yeah," the sheriff says. "She says she came here on her own, but that Theo does know where you live. He just hasn't been in town. She also says that Theo's been talking to Stiles this whole time, which we know isn't true. We're pulling Stiles' phone logs to check, but I know we aren't going to find anything."

"Does she know who Stiles is?" Derek asks.

"That he was Theo's boyfriend, you mean?" the sheriff asks. "No. I kept that to myself, just in case. She did tell me that Theo told her that Stiles is their surrogate, of all things."

" _What_!?" Derek hisses, almost forgetting to keep his voice down.

"Yeah," the sheriff says wearily. "I want to wait for Stiles to be awake before I explain all this. But I'll tell you this right now. She left town this morning after I told her that I am Stiles' father and that my grandchild is absolutely not going to her and Theo, and that if I see either of them in town again I'll charge them both with attempted kidnapping. Now, what they both decide to do with that information is out of my hands at the moment." Derek sits down hard on the arm of the couch Stiles is sleeping on, mind whirring.

"So, like, what's her actual involvement in all this?" Derek asks.

"The impression I got is that she just knows what Theo's been telling her," the sheriff says. "She says that Theo met Stiles last year on an online forum when they first started discussing surrogacy, and that Theo has been dealing with all the particulars surrounding that. Now, whether or not that's actually true, I don't know. I want to get Stiles' story first and compare notes to see if anything like this is even possible."

"Could Theo have really been juggling two different partners this whole time?" Derek asks.

"He probably could if one of those partners is an omega he's got trapped," the sheriff says. Derek looks down at Stiles, sleeping peacefully on the couch, and tries not to let his mind wander too far. Because he knows he isn't going to like what his imagination comes up with.

"Did you manage to find out if Scott is still talking to Theo?" Derek asks.

"Melissa isn't taking any of my calls," the sheriff says, an edge to his voice.

Derek closes his eyes.

***

Stiles wakes up in time for a late lunch and seems surprised to see his father and Derek home.

"I thought you two went to work this morning," Stiles says.

"Took the afternoon off," the sheriff says.

"I took a leave while you're on bedrest," Derek says.

"I'm not on bedrest," Stiles says with a frown.

"They don't know that," Derek says, shrugging. Stiles levels a confused look on him as he pushes himself up to a seated position. Then he starts getting to his feet and Derek hurries to help him up.

"Stiles, do you feel like a sandwich?" The sheriff asks, heading into the kitchen.

"Yeah," he says. "I just need to pee first." Derek watches him go before going to join the sheriff in the kitchen.

"Are you gonna tell him now?" he asks.

"After he eats," the sheriff says, slathering mayo on a slice of bread. Derek takes a seat at the table. Soon Stiles is back and he takes a seat at the table next to Derek.

"So what did Theo's wife have to say?" Stiles asks. He looks soft and rumpled from having just woken up and Derek wishes they were lying in bed together so he could pull Stiles close and cuddle him awake. He instead settles for running a hand through Stiles' hair, vaguely trying to tame the bedhead situation, and is glad that Stiles lets him do it. He even pushes into the touch a little.

"It can wait a little bit longer," the sheriff says. He comes over to the table and sets a sandwich on a plate in front of Stiles before taking his own seat. Stiles doesn't even look at the food.

"Dad," he says. "I need to know what I have to do to keep my baby safe. What did she say?" The sheriff just sighs.

"First of all, I'll just say that the wife is no longer in town," the sheriff says. "We released her this morning and I threatened to charge her with kidnapping if she showed up again. Same with Theo, who has never been in town as far as the wife knows."

"Okay," Stiles says. The sheriff just looks at him, saying nothing, until Stiles picks up the sandwich and starts eating it.

"So, according to the wife, she and Theo have been married for two years," the sheriff says. "It was mainly a long-distance relationship because she was in university and Theo had his job, but they were reunited when Theo moved to Alabama. They bought a house, but couldn't live together yet because Theo had to live in employee housing."

"He didn't live in employee housing, he lived with me!" Stiles exclaims.

"I know, I know," the sheriff says. "This is just what I was told. Anyway, the wife says that they were talking about starting a family now that they were in the same state. But they're both alphas, so of course they can't have kids naturally. They started discussing surrogacy and that's when she says that Theo said he met you on a forum last year and you'd agreed to carry a baby for them. Theo apparently took care of all the particulars because the wife was so busy with her job and finishing up school."

" _What_!?" Stiles exclaims. His free hand shoots out and clutches Derek's nearest arm, nails digging into the skin. Derek carefully pries the hand loose and holds it tightly in his own. The sandwich in Stiles' other hand doesn't fare as well.

"Theo doesn't know that she came here, according to her," the sheriff says. "She was starting to suspect that you weren't real and that Theo was feeding her lies about you and the baby, since there was always an excuse for the two of you not to meet, so she wanted to come down here and see for herself."

"How did she know where to find us?" Derek asks, gently picking hopelessly squashed sandwich off of Stiles' hand. Stiles doesn't even seem to notice him doing it, so intently focused as he is on his father.

"Apparently she found some private messages between Theo and Stiles from the forum in Theo's email," the sheriff says. "She said they have no secrets between each other." Stiles barks out a very harsh laugh.

"They couldn't have been real messages," Derek says.

"They probably weren't," the sheriff says. "I spoke to one of the IT guys at the station and he's looking into it. He says it's easy enough to fake something like that, especially if the other person isn't overly familiar with this kind of thing."

"So he did know that she'd try coming here," Stiles says. "If he went to the trouble of making fake emails it means that he wanted her to find them."

"Either that or it was to cover his bases," the sheriff says. "Stiles, did Theo ever have you sign anything while you were with him?"

"No," Stiles says. "But for something like a surrogacy agreement, he wouldn't have had to. Once he was determined to be the baby's sire, he would have complete control over the baby. The emails could be extra insurance, but unless a really hardcore omega rights supporter got involved he wouldn't even need those! And omega rights supporters are pretty scarce in bumfuck nowhere Alabama as far as I could tell!" Stiles is shaking, and his scent is shot through with so many emotions that Derek can barely parse them out. There's anger, of course, and fear and sadness and panic.

Derek isn't surprised when the tears start flowing, and soon Stiles is sobbing openly. Derek leans towards him on his chair and Stiles throws himself at his chest.

"H-he was g-going to take my ba-hay-by from meeee!" Stiles wails, clutching Derek's shirt in fists so tight his knuckles are turning white. Derek rubs his back to try and soothe him, but Stiles is inconsolable. Derek tucks Stiles' head under his own chin and murmurs lowly to him. Across the table, the sheriff puts his face in his hands and doesn't move.

***

Stiles cries so hard he throws up, which doesn't help anything. And it also doesn't stop the crying.

Derek takes him upstairs into the bathroom while the sheriff stays behind to clean up the kitchen. In the bathroom, Derek carefully helps Stiles out of the soiled shirt and then wipes his face and neck with a wet washcloth. Stiles lets him do it, with tears running down his face, big brown eyes pointed down the whole time, not looking at Derek.

He's no longer sobbing so hard, but he's clearly and obviously still distressed. It has Derek's protective alpha instincts going a bit haywire, and all he wants to do is get Stiles to a safe and secure place as soon as possible.

The thing is, they are in a safe and secure place - the sheriff's house - and it makes no difference.

Stiles hiccups and wipes at his running nose with his bare arm. Derek wrinkles his nose and does another wipe-down with the washcloth, then he hands Stiles a tissue so he can blow his nose. Then Derek takes Stiles by the hips and pulls him in close. Stiles goes easily, clinging to Derek as close as his belly will allow. Derek moves one hand up to splay across Stiles' belly, over bare skin. He feels the baby kick against his palm.

"He won't get our son, Stiles," Derek promises, face pressed against Stiles' hair. "I will end him before he even gets the chance to come close to either of you."

***

***


	22. Chapter 22

Just before Stiles started his first year of college, the government finally approved use of a contraceptive suppressant hormone shot for omegas that would basically act as birth control for the span of five years. The way it worked was that it made omega bodies unable to generate enough of the hormones required for a full-blown heat, so all they were left with were very weak barely-there heats without the intensity and fertility of a normal heat.

Basically it meant that when Stiles finally received it a few weeks after starting college, free through a program his college was running at the time, he would no longer have heats or be able to conceive a child for the next five years. That suited him fine. He had no plans to have children anytime soon, instead wanting to focus on school and young adult life. He was lucky to get it when he did, because the government reversed their approval not long after and the shot became no longer available in America (though it was still accessible in a few other countries).

Theo didn't have much of a reaction to the news when Stiles told him what he'd done. As this was still the early days of their relationship when everything was still good, Stiles wasn't afraid to share this information with him. Or to make major decisions without running them by his alpha first.

Later, Stiles would be endlessly grateful that he'd had the opportunity to get the shot, because he's pretty sure that saved him extra grief over the course of those five years.

***

According to Ainsley, Theo had met Stiles online about a year before Stiles got pregnant. Ainsley and Theo had gotten married a year before that, which Stiles hadn't known or even caught on to. He supposes that it wouldn't have been too hard to hide it from him, by then Stiles was mostly contained to the house and didn't have any interaction with anyone aside from the odd phone call to his father or text to Scott. Or sometimes Theo's friends would come around, but those didn't count as interactions since Stiles tended to avoid them at all costs.

Stiles wonders when Theo had come up with this plan. Neither of them had discussed children after the shot, and even though Stiles was keeping track of when the shot would wear off, he hadn't thought that Theo would be. Theo seemed to care so little for Stiles' health anyway. Even ignoring the mini pseudo-heats that Stiles would sometimes get.

So while Stiles had been worrying about how he would access birth control after the shot wore off, Theo had been making other plans.

Stiles had had one heat in the time between when the shot wore off and he escaped from Theo for good, his first in five years. He doesn't remember much of it now, and he doesn't like to think of the parts he does remember. When it was over, he hoped that he hadn't conceived. Omegas could only conceive during heats, but even then chances of conception weren't 100%.

Then he'd found out he was pregnant and left, and hoped that Theo would just assume that he wasn't pregnant after all. Knowing how difficult things could be for an unmarried pregnant omega, Stiles had hoped that Theo would have thought that Stiles wouldn't have wanted to put himself through that. He had suspected at the time that Theo was trying to get him pregnant on purpose, though he couldn't have ever imagined the reasoning behind it. He'd thought it was just another control tactic, knowing that Theo would have more rights to the baby than Stiles did, and that Stiles would never leave his child. Especially not with someone like Theo.

Stiles really doesn't think that Theo ever expected him to try to get away again, not after the first time had failed so devastatingly. Being able to leave a second time allowed Stiles a brief upper hand over Theo, and being able to marry Derek so quickly cemented it. If Theo is still unaware that Stiles is married to Derek, then Stiles still has the upper hand.

Theo is an abusive, manipulative, lying asshole, but he isn't a criminal mastermind.

Hopefully their next confrontation, that Stiles is determined to make their final one, will be quick and painless and end with Stiles and Theo going their separate ways for good.

That's probably just a pipe dream, but Stiles can hope.

***

Stiles and Derek are still staying with the sheriff a week later.

It's starting to seem a bit like overkill now, but Stiles can't deny that he feels good being back in the safety of his childhood home with his father and his alpha there to protect him.

Stiles can admit now, to himself, that Derek really is _his_ alpha. Even though Derek hasn't said anything about it one way or the other. His actions speak pretty loudly. Even someone like Derek, who is saintly enough to marry a former high school friend for said friend's protection and nothing else, surely wouldn't be doing as much as he is for someone he doesn't consider to be anything more than a friend.

Case in point: Derek is _still_ staying at the sheriff's house with Stiles. He hasn’t even gone back to work yet. Between the sheriff and Natalie (who Stiles doesn't really see as a stepmother, but who Stiles does like), and even Peter and Cora on occasion, Stiles is well looked-after. Derek doesn't even need to be there, but he stays. And Stiles loves him for it.

Falling (back?) in love with Derek Hale hadn't been in Stiles' plans when he made it back to town. Their marriage was supposed to be only temporary and in name only. Stiles hadn't even expected to be spending as much time with Derek as he has been, getting to know him again and growing closer as a result.

Hopefully he hasn't just opened the door for a new way for all this to blow up in his face.

***

Stiles is surprised to learn that Derek's friends are worried about him and his welfare.

He and Derek haven't seen them much over the past couple of months. Between everyone's different schedules, Derek has mostly been keeping in contact with them over text (they don't have Stiles' number). But Stiles sees more of them during that first week at his father's house.

"I told them you were on bedrest," Derek says to Stiles one morning, after a phone call from Erica demanding that she be invited over because she's worried. "Just in case something gets back to my boss."

"Do I have to stay in bed the whole time she's here?" Stiles asks.

"Being on the couch should be fine," Natalie says, making a cup of coffee with the Keurig. "Bedrest is more about staying relaxed and off your feet more than it has to do with an actual bed." So Stiles and Derek put together a blanket nest on the couch for Stiles to settle into. Then Natalie produces a little folding table where Stiles can keep his laptop, phone, TV remote control, and a bottle of water. It's actually quite the comfortable setup, Stiles finds out.

He misses his and Derek's blanket fort, and wishes they could replicate that here in his father's living room. At least then Derek could join Stiles in it. Of course Stiles is bigger now, so lounging around on the floor is not a great idea. Especially when he's starting to have enough trouble getting out of chairs.

Erica arrives around lunchtime, and she's brought Boyd and Kira with her.

"We coordinated our lunch breaks," Kira chirps. "Hi, Stiles!" Stiles waves from his blanket nest on the couch. He's reclined against the arm of the couch, not quite sitting down, so there's an empty space opposite him. Kira snags it immediately. She's holding a gift bag in her hand and Stiles looks at everyone in confusion. In the entrance to the living room, Derek shrugs.

"Cora says you don't want a baby shower," Erica says, dropping down in the armchair. "Which is ridiculous, by the way. Who doesn't want free stuff? Anyway, we all chipped in on something for you. Us three and Malia."

"Oh," Stiles says. He's surprised. Kira hands him the gift bag, and Stiles pulls it over to rest on his bump. The bag is fairly solid, but squishy in a way that implies there's something soft inside it. Stiles suspects clothes. He shoots a quick glance over at Derek, still standing in the entrance to the room with Boyd next to him, and opens the bag. On the top is what appears to be a blanket made of blue wool.

"Derek mentioned that you were having a little boy," Kira says.

"Several times," Erica adds. Stiles looks over at Derek to see him blushing. Stiles smiles to himself and pulls the blanket out of the bag. It's deep blue and so soft, with a giant teddy bear design in the middle. Stiles' mouth drops open.

"This is beautiful," he breathes. "Thank you." Also in the bag is a set of three sleepers patterned with different animals, a set of pacifiers, and a set of sheets for a crib. A crib that Stiles still doesn't have, but he pushes that thought out of his mind for now. Derek approaches the couch and Stiles holds out the items for his inspection.

"Thanks, guys," Derek tells the others.

"No sweat," Erica says. "Figured we might as well do something, even if we don't get a party out of it."

"You can have a party, just don't invite us," Derek says. Boyd chuckles and Erica makes a face at Derek.

"You can't have a baby shower without the mother there," she says.

"If you say so," Derek says.

"We should probably get going if we want to have time to eat before heading back to work," Boyd says.

"If you'd given us more than a couple hours' notice we could've had something here," Derek says.

"Nah," Erica says. "Don't worry about it. Before we all go, though, do we get a feel? I bet the baby's kicking now, right?" Erica takes a step towards Stiles, arm outstretched, and Stiles stiffens. No one touches his belly except for Derek, and sometimes the sheriff and Cora, and Natalie once. As harmless as he's sure Erica is, and even if she is Derek's friend, Stiles doesn't want her touching him.

"Maybe another time," Derek says as Boyd smoothly steps in to steer Erica away. "It's time for Stiles to eat something too. And then probably a nap, or something." That barely even makes sense as an excuse, but Stiles is grateful to Derek for stepping in, and he hopes that one day he'll be able to stand up for himself again.

"Exciting time the two of you are living," Erica quips.

"I could do with less excitement, personally," Stiles mutters. Kira gets to her feet and fidgets her fingers nervously.

"You guys would tell us if something was really wrong, right?" She asks. "Like, bedrest isn't common for omegas. The baby's alright, isn't he?" Stiles is touched by her care, and he feels his eyes tear up. He doesn't make any move to wipe at them, hoping that no one will notice. Derek does, because of course he does, but the others don't seem to.

"Trust me," Derek says. "You'd all know if something was really wrong. This is just... stress-related. The baby's fine."

"Does this have anything to do with Scott?" Erica asks. Stiles feels his heart skip a beat. Derek frowns at Erica.

"What makes you say that?" He asks.

"Scott was texting a while back," Boyd says. "Asking to get a message to Stiles. You said they had a falling out, so we just deleted the messages." Derek's frowns deepens and he looks between Erica and Kira.

"You too?" He asks.

"After I turned him down the first couple of times, he sent me a long text that started with some bullshit about omegas taking advantage of alphas," Erica says. "I didn't finish reading it, just sent him a 'fuck off' text and blocked his number."

"I got a new phone and number since we broke up in college and never gave him the new number," Kira says. "And I have him blocked on Facebook since the breakup. He can be very persistent."

"Tell me about it," Stiles mutters.

"So this falling out was pretty serious then," Erica says, looking between Derek and Stiles. Stiles clenches his jaw and nods hard.

"We'd both appreciate it if you guys wouldn't pass on any information to Scott, or any messages from him," Derek says. "Unless they get, like, really weird or something. We'd like to know about those."

"Understood," Boyd says. Derek nods at him, Boyd nods back.

"Anyway," Erica says. "Lunch. We'll see you guys later."

"See you," Stiles says. "Thanks for coming over. And for the blanket and stuff." Derek shows his friends to the door and everything is quiet again in the living room. Stiles runs a hand over the blanket draped over his bump. His other hand rubs idly over his side. Stiles looks up when Derek comes back into the room.

"Sorry I didn't let them feel the baby, even after they gave us this nice stuff," he says.

"You're allowed to have boundaries, Stiles," Derek says. "You don't even have to let _me_ feel if you don't want to, though I'm happy that you do." He sits down on the couch in the spot that Kira had vacated. Stiles pokes his feet out from under his blankets and digs his toes under Derek's thigh.

"I like the look you get whenever you feel the baby kick," Stiles says. "You love him already. I didn't expect that to happen when we first got married. I was prepared to do everything on my own. But I'm glad that my baby is going to have an alpha father after all. And I'm glad that it's you." Derek's cheeks go red and he smiles down at Stiles' feet.

"Me too," he says.

***

Stiles wakes up to his body on fire.

He's mostly confused, squinting into the darkness of the bedroom. There's an arm slung over his waist and a warm body pressed against his back. A warm, _hard_ , body, specifically the part pressing against his ass.

Stiles takes a deep breath in.

An alpha.

Theo!?

Another deep breath.

No. Derek.

Well that's alright then.

Stiles likes Derek.

Stiles' mind is sluggish; it's too hot to think. He moves to kick off his blankets, only to find that they're already off. The alpha – Derek – behind him grumbles something out and then there's a nose snuffling against Stiles' hair behind his ear. Then lips on his neck. Stiles arches his neck further in invitation, though it's kind of awkward lying down.

The lips on Stiles' neck move lower. There's a hand on his belly now, moving down over the swell. Stiles' legs twitch. He makes a noise, some sort of strangled moan. He's _so_ hot.

Suddenly, everything stops.

"Stiles? What's—Are you--? Shit."

Derek. Derek moves away, leaving Stiles' back suddenly cold until the flames find it and then he's hot all over again.

He whines.

***

***


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for mentions of rape

Derek's first instinct, when he wakes fully and realizes what's happening, is to throw himself off the bed. Away from Stiles. Who is giving off omega-in-heat pheromones like it's his job.

It's making Derek a bit lightheaded.

He moves away from where he'd basically plastered himself to Stiles' back. Away from the temptation to touch, and lick, and _take_. Stiles had never agreed to anything like this when they married. And he hadn't brought anything about it up in the time since then. Derek regrets not talking to Stiles about this before, that one time Yael had mentioned it. He's an idiot.

Stiles whines after Derek puts some distance between them. That sends Derek immediately back to his previous position. He gathers Stiles to him, holding him tightly. Stiles' body is hot to the touch and damp with sweat. Derek can't stop himself from pressing his face against Stiles' neck. He inhales lungfuls of pheromone-laden air and licks up Stiles' throat, tasting salt. Tasting _Stiles_. His cock throbs in his sleep pants.

"Alpha," Stiles whimpers, clutching at Derek's arm.

It's like a bucket of cold water to Derek's face, and he pulls his head away from Stiles' neck. His instincts are screaming at him that Stiles is his omega and he _needs_ him. But does Stiles even know who he is right now?

According to Samuel, pregnancy heats aren't as intense as normal heats. Would Stiles be affected so much that he wouldn't be able to recognize Derek?

Derek shuffles over to the edge of the bed, taking Stiles with him because he does _not_ want to hear that whine again (like he's done something terribly wrong), and reaches out to switch on the lamp on the nightstand.

That turns out to maybe not be his best idea ever, because the visual of Stiles along with the scent is doing detrimental things to Derek's control. Stiles blinks slowly in the light, gazing up at Derek through half-lidded eyes with pupils blown wide. There's a sheen of sweat across his skin that's shiny in the lamplight. His hair is dishevelled and his cheeks are flushed red and all Derek wants to do is pull aside the collar of Stiles' shirt – or maybe just get rid of it completely – to see how far down that flush goes.

He holds himself back.

"Stiles," he rasps out, voice unexpectedly hoarse. He tries to swallow only to find out that his mouth has gone dry. Stiles surges forward, pressing himself against Derek's front and gripping Derek's arms with sweat-dampened hands.

"Derek," he moans.

Okay, so Stiles knows who he is. That's good.

Not that it really changes much, but it's nice to know that Stiles isn't completely unaware of his surroundings.

Stiles hands leave Derek's arms and start roving, landing on Derek's chest and starting to slide down. Derek shudders, then grabs Stiles' hands in his and stills them.

"Stiles," Derek says hoarsely. "We can't do this. Not like this." Stiles whines again and presses closer, shoving his forehead against their clasped hands.

"It's so hot," Stiles mumbles. "I need..."

"I know," Derek says. "Just let me..." He manages to untangle one of his hands and gropes around on the nightstand for his phone. Once he finally has it, he dials the sheriff, who answers right away even if it's dark 'clock in the morning.

"Derek?" The sheriff asks, voice rough with sleep. "Are you seriously calling me from down the hall?"

"Stiles is in heat," Derek blurts out. "I don't— We didn't— Help?"

"Shit," the sheriff says. "Okay, hold on, I know what to do. Natalie, wake up, where's the--" The call ends. Derek lets the phone drop wherever and then he tries to drag Stiles into a sitting position. Stiles clings to Derek and doesn't seem to be able to stay upright under his own power.

"We're gonna fix this, Stiles," Derek says. "Your dad's gonna come help."

"I don't..." Stiles mumbles.

"I know," Derek says. He runs a hand through Stiles' hair and down his back. Stiles shivers and wriggles restlessly where he's sitting. Derek consciously doesn't think of why.

The door bursting open scares the crap out of both of them. Derek hadn't heard the footsteps rushing down the hall, somehow forgetting about the world beyond the bedroom for a minute. The overhead light snaps on, blinding Derek for a second, but he still notes the presence of another alpha coming into the room. Derek pulls Stiles pretty much into his lap and turns himself around, putting himself between Stiles and the new alpha. Adrenaline pumps through his veins and he's breathing hard. Stiles suddenly grinds down against him, which has him seeing stars for a second.

"Oh for fuck-- Derek, it's me." Derek turns his head to look over his shoulder, squinting in the bright light. The alpha is standing in the doorway. Derek shakes his head. Tries to clear some of the fog. Tries desperately to ignore Stiles in his lap, who is now making _noises_.

Derek blinks hard and the sheriff is standing in the doorway in ratty old pyjamas, while Natalie stands behind him still in the hallway, peeking over the sheriff's shoulder.

"Derek," the sheriff says slowly, cautiously. "I'm going to throw you this box, and then I need you to open it and feed Stiles what's inside it. Okay?" Derek stares at the sheriff until the instructions penetrate through the haze of pheromones and lust and into his brain. Then he nods. The sheriff gives an answering nod, then softly lobs a small box onto the bed.

Derek grabs the box and studies it. It's some kind of heat blocker. There's a picture of a pregnant man and woman on the front of the box. ' _Formulated Specifically For Pregnant Omegas_ ' the box boasts in large, red letters across the picture. He opens the box with clumsy fingers, ripping it and spilling the contents on the bed.

"He just needs one," the sheriff says from the doorway. "It should start working right away." The heat blockers are tablets about the size of a quarter and ten times as thick. They're individually packaged in their own blister pack and Derek grabs the nearest one and pops it out of its wrapper, through a foil covering that says ' _dissolves on the tongue in seconds!'_.

"Stiles, I need you to open your mouth," Derek says. Then he has to get Stiles' attention and repeat himself. Stiles' eyes are glassy and Derek still isn't sure he understands until his mouth drops open. Saliva runs down from the corner of Stiles' mouth and Derek's brain short-circuits for a second.

"Derek!" The sheriff barks and Derek jolts. He shakes his head, grabs the heat blocker tablet, and puts it into Stiles' mouth. The tablet immediately starts to dissolve, creating foam in Stiles' mouth. Derek gently pushes Stiles' jaw upwards and waits. Eventually, Stiles swallows. He stares up at Derek, and Derek watches as his eyes clear and his expression goes from slightly spacy to confused to mortified. Eventually he's staring at Derek in something close to horror.

"There you are," Derek says, smiling faintly and not moving a muscle. The air is still heavy with pheromones, but Derek can tell that Stiles isn't putting out any new heat ones. Plenty of distressed ones, which isn't ideal. Stiles still hasn't said anything.

"Derek," the sheriff says, slowly approaching the bed. "Do you wanna...?" He points over his shoulder, out of the room. Derek gets the message. He moves to get off the bed, only for Stiles to grab onto his shirt and make a distressed noise.

"It's okay, Stiles," Derek says. "I'll be back soon. We both need to get cleaned up. It's all fine." Stiles continues to stare at Derek with wide, wet eyes, but he does let him go. Derek gives Stiles what he hopes is a soothing smile and slides off the bed. The sheriff walks into the room and Derek walks out.

Then he closes himself up in the bathroom and stumbles into the shower, turning it on cold, gasping in shock when the water hits him. He doesn't even bother taking his clothes off, just stands under the spray, bracing himself on the wall, trying to calm himself down.

It isn't working.

His cock is a hard line where it's trapped in his briefs and it throbs in time with Derek's pulse. Derek can still taste Stiles on his tongue, still smell him on his clothes, still picture the look in his eyes. Unable to help himself, Derek shoves his hand down his pants and wraps it around his dick. All it takes is two quick strokes and he's coming so hard his legs wobble and he has to bite down on his arm to keep from crying out. He thinks he might feel his knot start to inflate, though without actual heat pheromones in the air it doesn't get very far.

He stays under the cold spray for a couple more minutes, one hand in his pants and his head hanging, panting. He only turns the shower off when he hears a knock at the door.

"I have some extra clothes for you." It's Natalie. "I'll just leave them here by the door."

"Thanks," Derek croaks out. Once he's sure his legs are steady, he climbs out of the shower and makes a face as he starts peeling himself out of his wet clothes.

***

The sun is just coming up when Derek makes his way downstairs.

He finds Stiles in his designated spot on the living room couch. He's wrapped in his blankets but Derek can tell that he's also showered and changed clothes. In the sheriff's ensuite bathroom, he assumes. Stiles is no longer giving off any heat pheromones, so the heat blocker must've worked.

Derek wants to kick himself for not thinking to bring up a possible pregnancy heat before now. They could've had a plan in place instead of having to go through the whole mess from earlier.

He's not sure how he'll be able to look the sheriff or Natalie in the eye after this. He can't even imagine what this is like for Stiles, who might be dealing with more than just embarrassment for all Derek knows.

Stiles doesn't look up when Derek approaches the couch. Unsure of his welcome in the room at all, Derek just sits down in the nearby armchair. He doesn't want to intrude in Stiles' space if he's not wanted, but he does want to at least make sure that Stiles is okay. Derek wracks his brain for a way to start this conversation, but Stiles beats him to it.

"I'm sorry," he says. Derek's gaze snaps to him. Stiles still isn't looking at him. He's hunched over in his blanket nest with the top blanket up to his nose. His eyes are red-rimmed and the lashes are still clumped together wetly.

"You don't have to apologize," Derek says.

"Yeah, I do," Stiles says. "I knew this was a possibility and I never brought it up. I guess I didn't really think it would happen. It doesn't happen to everyone."

"Well then, I'm sorry too," Derek says. "I knew it was a possibility and I didn't bring it up either."

"You two sure are a pair," the sheriff says, suddenly appearing in the living room entrance. He's already in his uniform and drinking from a mug of coffee. Derek doesn't know what time it is; there's no clock in the living room and his phone is still in Stiles' bedroom.

"God, this is so embarrassing," Stiles says, shuffling down so that the blankets cover him up to his hairline.

"If embarrassment is all you're feeling, then I'd say you got off pretty lucky," the sheriff says. Stiles doesn't respond to that and eventually the sheriff leaves the room.

"What did he mean by that?" Derek asks.

"Well," Stiles says, peeking out over the top of the blanket but still not looking at Derek. "Not a lot of omegas make it out of unexpected heats with an alpha nearby without ending up with that alpha's cock in them, whether they want it or not. How do you think I ended up pregnant in the first place?" Derek doesn't know what to do with that.

"Stiles, I..." he says.

"I already knew that you weren't going to be like that," Stiles says. He looks at Derek now. "You know that's why I approached you in the first place. Even if things had turned out different between us, I knew I was safe with you."

"But I still..." Derek cuts himself off.

"You called my dad, Derek," Stiles says. "That's more than a lot of alphas would've done."

"I still hate that your standards for decent alpha behaviour are so low," Derek says.

"So do I," Stiles says. "Did this... ruin anything? Between us?"

"What? No!" Derek exclaims. "Not for me. Why would you think that?" Stiles shrugs a shoulder.

"I know something like this can make things awkward," Stiles says. "I mean..." He winces. "I kind of played my hand there, didn't I?"

"How's that?" Derek asks.

"Well..." One of Stiles' arms pops out of his blanket nest and gestures vaguely. "I was kind of all over you. A bit. There." Some of the blanket falls away from Stiles' face and Derek sees that he's blushing.

"Yeah, but that was the heat, wasn't it?" Derek asks. "Omegas in heat aren't always in complete control of themselves."

"True," Stiles says. "But a pregnancy heat isn't as intense as a normal heat. It's enough to lower inhibitions, not enough to be totally out of control. I knew who you were."

"Yeah," Derek says. "You said my name."

"I could tell by your scent it was you," Stiles says. "I wanted you. I mean— Like--" He buries his face in the blankets and makes a frustrated noise. Derek feels his own face heat.

Well, this is a surprise.

Stiles lifts his face up and doesn't look at Derek.

"Derek, the last time I went into heat was when I was with Theo," he says, voice thick with the threat of tears. Derek gets out of the armchair and approaches the couch, kneeling on the floor next to where Stiles is sitting. Stiles gives him a quick look, but mostly just speaks to his blankets.

"It was awful," he says in a near-whisper. "It was my first heat in five years. It was so intense I could barely stand it. And I did _not_ want Theo near me. It was after my first escape attempt, so he damn well knew it too."

"Stiles..."

"I tried to fight him off," Stiles continues, staring unseeingly at the blankets. "There comes a point during a heat that an omega completely loses coherency if they don't get relief. At that point, you'll do anything to make it stop. Calling it a 'heat' is pretty appropriate, actually. Your body gets so hot that it feels like you're going to literally catch fire. Letting it go on for too long without doing anything makes it unbearable. At some point you just... give up.

"I don't remember a lot of it. At one point I was on fire, begging Theo to leave me alone, even though my body wanted him to do the complete opposite. To put the fire out. And then the next thing I knew, it was over. I was myself again, but all that meant was that I was now aware that something had been done to me. I couldn't even remember what had happened, I was so out of it. But it turns out you don't need to remember something bad for it to have an effect on you."

Derek wants Stiles to stop talking, but he also wants to know more. He wants to bundle Stiles up in his blankets and hide him away in his bedroom where he can keep him safe. He also wants to track down Theo and _destroy_ him.

"All that is to say I know the difference between wanting someone and not wanting someone while in heat," Stiles says. "I wouldn't settle for just any alpha. My body might give in eventually, but my mind and heart wouldn't."

"But that wouldn't have given me the right to... do what I wanted to do with you back there," Derek says. He's distantly aware that he's admitting something here, but hopes Stiles doesn't catch on.

"I know," Stiles says. "But you didn't take what my heat was making me offer before I was ready." And Derek realizes that this is Stiles admitting something as well. "And you wouldn't. And not because of any trouble you might get in, but because you didn't want to hurt me."

"I never want to hurt you," Derek says fiercely. Stiles suddenly untangles himself from the blankets and slides off the couch, landing somewhat awkwardly in Derek's lap. He wraps his arms around Derek's back, and Derek wraps his own arms around Stiles' back, situating him better across his thighs.

"I know," Stiles says.

He lays his head on Derek's shoulder, facing outward, and snuggles deeper in Derek's hold. Derek presses his face against Stiles' head and closes his eyes.

Derek silently vows to do his best to be the best alpha he can be for Stiles. The alpha he deserves.

And he'll spend his whole life doing it as long as Stiles will let him.

***

***


	24. Chapter 24

Stiles and Derek end up staying at the sheriff's house for another month.

They eventually come to the conclusion that whatever Theo plans to do next, if anything, it'll only happen after the baby is born.

Stiles is grateful that he's been able to stay with his father for as long as they have, but he finds that he's actually looking forward to getting back to the apartment.

He's looking forward to spending some time alone with Derek, if he's honest.

He's missed their movie nights. They've still been doing that at the sheriff's house, but somehow it's not the same.

Also, there has been a definable shift in their relationship since the heat incident, and Stiles would like the opportunity to explore that without the sheriff practically supervising everything. (He would also rather not be enormously pregnant while exploring this, but apparently he can't have everything.)

***

"So my contacts in Alabama are assuring me that Theo and Ainsley haven't left the state," the sheriff says, sitting on the couch and watching Derek try to assemble a change table. They'd ordered some furniture online while staying at the sheriff's and that had helped cement a timeline on when Stiles and Derek would return to the apartment.

"How can they even tell that?" Stiles asks. He's sitting on the couch next to the sheriff and in charge of the building instructions for the change table.

"Their names are apparently on a public transport watchlist," the sheriff says. "And they've apparently assigned a guy to keep an eye out in the area they live in."

"All that for a crime that hasn't even happened yet?" Stiles asks.

"I went to them as a fellow lawman who needs a favour," the sheriff says. "And I laid it out for them in terms of some alpha is trying to steal what's mine, which is something they understand. Also Peter Hale is somehow involved, which apparently smoothed some things over. I've been told not to ask how." Stiles arches an eyebrow at the sheriff and then turns to Derek, who's concentrating on screwing two boards together.

"What exactly does Peter do?" Stiles asks.

"He's a professional troll," Derek answers without looking up.

"Makes sense to me," Stiles says. He feels a cramping in his belly and grimaces. He shifts to one side with a grunt and the cramp eases off.

"What's wrong?" the sheriff asks.

"Cramp," Stiles says. Derek's heads snaps up. " _Just_ a cramp." The two of them had already been through this song and dance the week before. Even ending up with an emergency appointment with Dr Kaneko. Labour pains and cramps are two different beasts, Stiles had been told, and he'd know the difference when the time came. Not every cramp is a sign of early labour.

It never fails to get a reaction out of Derek, though.

"Oh, you two are gonna have a fun couple of weeks, aren't you," the sheriff says.

"It's nice to get to worry about normal pregnancy stuff for once, though," Stiles says.

"Whatever makes you happy, kid," the sheriff says.

***

On their first night back in the apartment, both Derek and Stiles had retired for the night in Derek's bedroom. They'd gotten used to sharing a bed while staying with the sheriff, and now Stiles has become almost addicted to the feel of a warm body cuddling him close at night. Especially when that warm body is Derek's.

After so long with either no comforting touch or a mockery of it, Stiles revels in this contact with Derek. It isn't sexual, not even after the heat, and Stiles is happy to relearn this casual touch that doesn't come with the threat of unwanted sexual contact.

They both officially live in Derek's room now by unspoken agreement. They haven't said anything to anyone about it, but it's fairly obvious by the way they're slowly turning Stiles' bedroom into more of a nursery.

Things are really starting to feel more normal now, almost like a proper relationship. And despite the threat of Theo still looming, and the fact that Stiles has still mostly confined himself to the apartment, and the fact that Derek's mother still seems to disapprove of the whole affair, Stiles is happy.

***

At Stiles' next appointment with Dr Kaneko, she assures them that everything is progressing smoothly. Stiles is healthy, the baby is healthy, and everything is proceeding on schedule.

The average length of male omega pregnancies is 37 to 40 weeks. Stiles is currently at 31 weeks. They've reached the endgame now.

Stiles is a bit torn. On the one hand, he's excited to finally meet this tiny person that he's been growing for so long. The little boy that gave him the courage to try once again to escape from a bad situation. And he can't wait to see Derek hold their baby for the first time; that's sure to be a sight that'll melt Stiles' heart.

On the other hand, though, Stiles sometimes wonders if inside his womb isn't the safest place for the baby to be.

"So, I mentioned at our appointment last month that you might consider coming up with a birth plan," Dr Kaneko says, shuffling some papers on her desk. "Have you thought about that at all?"

"Oh, yes," Stiles says. He pulls out his phone to get to his notes. He and Derek had discussed this on and off over the past couple of weeks and they'd put together what Stiles' figures is a list of reasonable demands.

"Um," Derek says. "We've seen some things in online forums about how birth plans aren't always followed. And sometimes they're even ignored." Dr Kaneko nods.

"Unfourtunately that sometimes happens," she says. "A lot of the time it's because unexpected issues happen and the treatment or solution for those are incompatible with a birth plan. And sometimes it can be because of poor attitude and behaviour on part of the medical staff."

"Our birth plan is more focused around safety concerns," Stiles says. "I have a... complicated past. I'd rather that didn't mess up anything." Stiles had alluded to his complicated past in previous appointments without going into specifics. He doesn't want to come out and say that he has an abusive ex-alpha who might show up to cause trouble because that would just invite unneeded questions. Mostly about the baby's paternity, and Stiles doesn't want that.

"Understandable," Dr Kaneko says.

"I want my dad with me at all times," Stiles says, reading off his phone. "He's the sheriff." Dr Kaneko nods. "And I want Derek with me as much as possible, but once the baby's out what I really want is him to not be separated from the baby at all."

"That might not be entirely possible," Dr Kaneko says. "The nurses and doctors will have a job to do, and they wouldn't appreciate having an onlooker there who could get in the way."

"I mean, yeah," Stiles says. "Mostly I just want Derek to know where the baby is at all times. I don't know how well I'll be able to keep track of him right after I've delivered. I'd feel a lot better if Derek could do that for me. And I'd really prefer if the baby could stay in the room with me the whole time. I don't want him going into the nursery."

"That can be arranged," Dr Kaneko says.

"Also…" Stiles looks down at his phone. "I don't know what the hospital security setup is like."

"We wouldn't be able to provide you with your own guard, I'm afraid," Dr Kaneko says. "But we wouldn't say no to you bringing in your own, as long as they don't get in the way of the hospital staff and other labouring patients."

"Absolutely no problem," Stiles says, making a note on his phone. "And last thing: pain meds."

"We have several options," Dr Kaneko says.

"Brilliant," Stiles says.

***

Stiles and Derek have moved their regular movie nights from the living room to the bedroom. The TV in there is a bit smaller, true, but at this point in his pregnancy the bed is a lot more comfortable for Stiles than the couch is. Also it's easier to cuddle with Derek _and_ be able to see the TV on the bed.

The nursery in Stiles' bedroom is fairly bare-bones (they hadn't even bothered to really decorate it), but it is stocked and functional and ready for a baby. They'd put it off until almost the last minute, but they'd gotten there in the end. It's a bit crowded with the bed still in it, but it's workable.

Stiles feels good about bringing the baby back here.

The credits roll on the movie, and Stiles looks behind him at Derek to see if he maybe wants to watch another one. Derek is asleep, it turns out. Stiles smiles at the sight, Derek's face is softer in sleep. It's adorable.

He reaches out a hand and traces a finger down Derek's nose and over his cheek. His scruff tickles a bit and Stiles smiles. Derek's nose wrinkles and his eyes slit open. He blinks at Stiles for a few seconds.

"Did I fall asleep?" He asks. He looks adorably confused.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "Sorry for waking you."

"Hrm," Derek grumbles. He closes his eyes again and pulls Stiles more snug against his chest. Then he snuggles his face against his pillow and seems to fall right back to sleep. Stiles honestly envies him that ability.

Stiles is pretty much pinned against Derek right now, which isn't a bad place to be, honestly. He's warm and safe in Derek's arms, especially with Derek's arm slung over his waist with a possessive hand spread wide over his belly. Stiles is content to stay like this for the rest of the night. Or, at least, until he has to go pee again.

Whatever happens in the coming weeks, Stiles knows that he'll have Derek's support.

These days he almost has a hard time remembering what it had felt like when he'd first approached Derek for help. Back when he thought that all was getting was Derek's name and that he'd be doing everything else alone. Sometimes it seems like that was so long ago, and sometimes it seems the opposite.

Things certainly haven't gone the way Stiles had planned, or expected.

And for the first time in a long time, it's a good thing.

***

***


	25. Chapter 25

"Well, you two are in the homestretch now," Samuel says. "Getting excited yet?"

Samuel, Peter, and Cora have, for some reason Derek cannot figure out, decided to visit Derek at the library. He's back at work part time at the moment, with the understanding that he'll be back on leave the second he hears that Stiles even _thinks_ that he's going into labour.

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to finally getting to actually see this kid," Derek says.

"I bet Stiles is just excited for this all to be over," Cora says.

"He's excited for the epidural," Derek says.

"That's the second best part of labour," Samuel says with a chuckle.

"What's the first?" Cora asks.

"Hello Hale family!" Yael exclaims, suddenly appearing from between two of the library shelves. "Welcome! Are you here to join in on our betting pool?"

"Christ," Derek mutters to himself.

"Betting pool?" Peter says, immediately interested.

"They're betting on when Stiles will go into labour," Derek says. If he's being honest, he isn't really annoyed at this. It's some harmless fun and Derek gets a kick out of seeing what some people have predicted on the wall calendar that Yael taped up behind the desk with everyone's guesses on it.

Someone had guessed a date three months from now. Derek had mentioned this to Stiles after it had gone up on the calendar and Stiles had gone a bit pale.

"Derek, if I'm still pregnant three months from now I'm going to need you to shoot me," he'd said. Stiles is clearly ready for all this to be over. He doesn't complain about it much, but Derek imagines that he'd like to have his normal energy levels back. And his original bladder control. And to be able to see his feet again.

Not to mention that once the baby is born and Derek is officially registered as the sire, that's one more worry off of Stiles' shoulders where Theo is concerned.

"How much money is being put on this?" Peter asks, joining Yael at the calendar behind the counter. Derek rolls his eyes and ignores the two of them.

"So Stiles texted me pictures of your nursery," Cora says. "Gotta admit, It's pretty bare in there, Derek."

"Yeah, well..." Derek mumbles. He darts a quick look behind him to make sure Yael isn't paying attention. "It's kinda like we don't want to jinx anything? Stiles moving into my room is still kinda new. I don't want to take away his space just in case things don't work out."

"Derek, I've seen how he is around you," Cora deadpans. "And how you are around him. Trust me, things're gonna work out."

"Derek," Peter calls over, "what's Stiles' due date?"

"I'm not helping you cheat," Derek says.

"So when are you finished for the day?" Samuel asks. "It's almost lunchtime."

"I've got another five minutes," Derek says, checking the time on a nearby wall clock.

"Excellent," Samuel says. "We'll go out and get lunch and meet you back at the apartment. What does Stiles like?"

"Right now he's mostly into a very specific Subway order," Derek says, pulling out his phone. "I'll text you. Just read it out exactly as I write it. Trust me, it'll go better for everyone."

"He can't get a normal menu item?" Cora asks.

"Do you want to argue with the heavily pregnant omega?" Derek asks, not looking up from the text he's writing.

"I can tell you from the other side that it never ends well," Samuel says.

***

When Derek gets home from work he finds everyone sitting around the living room eating their subs and discussing the package of ready-made formula that Stiles had ordered online the week before.

"Hey, Derek," Stiles says. He's sitting on the couch with his sub resting on his belly like it's a tray. Derek grins at the sight as he takes off his shoes.

"So I guess they did a good job with ordering?" Derek asks.

"We're not so inept that we can't read out instructions, Derek," Peter says.

"Jury's still out on you, Peter," Derek says. Cora snorts into her sub and Samuel rolls his eyes. Stiles chuckles into his hand. Then he goes a bit red as Derek goes over to drop a kiss to the top of his head on his way to the bedroom to change out of his work clothes.

"Sounds like you don't want your sub!" Peter calls after him.

"I will fight you!" Derek calls back.

"Can we please get back to the formula?" Samuel asks. Derek is soon back in the living room, where space has been made for him on the couch next to Stiles. Cora hands him a paper bag with his sub in his when he sits down.

"This actually seems a lot more convenient in the grand scheme of things," Cora says. She's taken one of the formula bottles from the package and is reading the instructions on the side.

"It's mostly just for 'just in case' reasons," Stiles says. "Like if I have, like, nipple... issues... Or if Derek wants to feed and there isn't anything pumped."

"Nipple issues," Cora mutters.

"So you managed to get a pump then?" Samuel asks.

"Dr Kaneko arranged for me to get a rental through the hospital," Stiles says. "I'll get it after the baby's born."

"Lucky you," Samuel says. "When I had the kids I had to buy mine, and they were pretty hard to find back then because what omega would want to pump, right?"

"Every time you mention something from when you had kids it sounds like the dark ages," Stiles says, frowning.

"Compared to what you - and Jordan – have to deal with these days, it pretty much was," Samuel says. "Of course, I certainly had it better than my omega parent did."

"Progress marches on," Stiles says. "Very slowly."

"Even these pre-made formula bottles are new," Samuel says. "We're lucky as omegas to not have as many potential issues with breastfeeding, but I imagine they're really popular for families without omega parents."

"'Cause our bodies are perfectly designed for anything surrounding pregnancy and childcare," Stiles mutters.

"Sounds like something Jordan would say," Cora says.

"That _is_ something Jordan said," Stiles says.

"Oh boy," Cora says. She's finished her sub and is crumpling up the wrapper. Stiles takes a bite from his, frankly, overfull sub. It's lucky that his belly is, well,  _ there _ , because it does a good job of catching stray vegetables that fall out of the back of the sub. Derek refrains from pointing it out because he's already made that mistake once.

Never again.

Derek quietly eats his sub and hands Stiles his own extra napkins without comment.

***

The closer they get to Stiles' due date, the more nervous Derek gets.

The more nervous Derek gets, the more annoyed Stiles gets.

On the one hand, Derek is a bit put out that Stiles is being short with him just for being concerned about him and the baby (though it _is_ probably pretty aggravating to be asked if you're going into labour every time you so much as grimace) (and, yes, Derek is getting that bad). On the other hand, though, a part of Derek is actually quite pleased that Stiles feels safe enough with him to snap at him.

Cora just gives him a look when he mentions this to her, though she does understand.

Stiles is getting annoyed at more than Derek's constant hovering these days, though. Being in the end stages of pregnancy is apparently no joke and these days Stiles is almost eternally uncomfortable. Derek tries to help where he can, but there really isn't a whole lot he can do about aches and pains and raging hormones.

***

Stiles wakes up grouchy, already annoyed with the world even before Derek even has the chance to bother him with questions.

He gets up when Derek does, too uncomfortable these days to sleep properly, and sulks quietly in the living room while Derek gets ready for work.

"Do you want me to stay home with you today?" Derek asks, putting on his shoes. Stiles is lying on his side on the living room couch looking exhausted and done with the day, even though it isn't even eight o'clock yet.

"No," Stiles says. "I'll be fine. I'll text you if I need anything." Derek goes over to the couch and crouches down next to Stiles' head. Stiles watches him, purple bags under his eyes and some slight scruff that he hasn't bothered to shave off for the past few days. His shirt is damp around the chest area and Derek notices that he isn't wearing a bra.

"Looks like you're leaking there," Derek says. Stiles glances down and then back up. They've now reached the stage where talking about Stiles' bodily functions is no longer awkward or embarrassing. Even if it does involve his breasts.

"I think it happened sometime during the night," he says. "I'll change later. Probably."

"Maybe a shower when I get back," Derek says. Both Derek and Stiles prefer that Stiles doesn't shower alone in the apartment, just in case something happens. Shower/bathtub combos aren't friendly to heavily pregnant people, especially ones who already started out as fairly uncoordinated. "Does your back hurt?"

"My back always hurts," Stiles grouses. Derek reaches out and kneads a bit at Stiles' lower back. The muscles under the skin feel taut, which doesn't seem comfortable. Stiles' eyes flutter shut and he hums.

"I'll get you the heating pad before I go," Derek says. "Maybe try to get a nap in or something?"

"I'll try," Stiles says. "But it won't matter because I'll just need to get up to pee every five minutes." He starts tearing up and he sniffles a bit. Derek makes soothing noises and cups Stiles' cheek.

"Hey," he says softly. "It's almost over. Soon you'll be pain free and your bladder won't be so squished. And on top of that, you get to finally see who you've been carrying around this whole time."

"Yeah," Stiles says with a shaky smile. "We'll get to count all his fingers and toes. See his little face."

"Exactly," Derek says. He smooths a hand over Stiles' belly and then gives his hip a quick pat before getting up to search out the heating pad. Samuel had suggested it to them and it has proven to be a godsend. He finds it in the bedroom and brings it to the living room. It's a bit of an awkward setup having to plug it in since the closest outlet is by the wall behind the TV. Luckily the cord is long enough to reach but it does have to stretch over the coffee table.

Derek plugs the heating pad in while Stiles arranges it comfortably where he wants it. Stiles has the attached remote and he fiddles with the settings while Derek grabs him a bottle of water and a snack. He places them on the coffee table, next to the TV remote and Stiles' phone, and makes sure that Stiles can reach them easily.

Stiles' eyes are closed when Derek looks at him again. He's not asleep, though, Derek can tell by the stiffness in his body and his grip on the heating pad's remote. The couch isn't as comfortable as the bed, but it'll do fine for now if Stiles doesn't want to move.

"Alright," Derek says. Stiles slits an eye open to look at him. "I'm heading out. Text me if you need anything. Or if anything happens."

"Will do," Stiles says, and closes his eye. Derek runs a hand through Stiles' hair before forcing himself to grab his bag and go. He gets one last look at Stiles' face, looking a bit more relaxed so hopefully the heating pad is doing its job, before he closes and locks the door behind himself.

***

Derek gets one text from Stiles during the morning asking him to bring home a smoothie. Derek swings by the nearest Starbucks on his way home, getting a smoothie for each of them.

Stiles isn't on the couch when Derek gets in, but Samuel is, flipping through a magazine. Derek blinks at his father in confusion as closes the door behind him.

"Dad?" Derek asks. "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"Stiles called me," Samuel says, looking up and smiling. "He's in the kitchen." Derek eyes his father as he crosses into the kitchen, taking the smoothies with him. He finds Stiles bracing himself on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, eyes closed and breathing hard through his nose.

"Hey," Derek says cautiously. He puts the smoothies on the table and approaches Stiles, who opens his eyes to look at him. He looks much the same as he had when Derek left earlier, and Derek hopes that he's at least managed to get a nap in at some point.

"Hey," Stiles says. "Are you back already?"

"Yeah, it's lunchtime," Derek says. "Are you okay?"

"Should I start the timer now, Stiles?" Samuel calls from the living room.

"Yeah," Stiles calls back. He straightens up with a wince and rubs at his lower back.

"Cramp?" Derek asks.

"I don't think so," Stiles says, shaking his head. Before Derek has a chance to get too worked up, Stiles puts a hand up. "I don't know for sure that it's, you know, go day. But this really, really hurts." There's an edge of tears in his voice and Derek keeps his mouth shut. Derek had assumed that Stiles would be as excited as him when The Time finally came, but he certainly doesn't look it now. He looks scared, honestly, and he's giving out faint distressed pheromones.

It suddenly becomes very clear to Derek that he and Stiles are going to have _very_ different experiences today. If it is, in fact, The Day.

Derek moves slowly towards Stiles and opens his arms. Stiles quickly moves in and lets Derek wrap him up in a tight grip. He feels Stiles sigh against his throat as Derek' hand rubs large circles on Stiles' back.

"You think this could be it?" Derek asks softly.

"I think so," Stiles says. "This feels different than before. Your dad agrees."

"Gonna be a big day, then," Derek says.

"Yeah," Stiles whispers.

"Do you still want your smoothie?" Derek asks. Stiles nods. Derek reaches behind him for the smoothie and hands it to Stiles, who drinks it with his head still in the crook of Derek's neck. The smoothie is uncomfortably cold where it's pressed against Derek's collarbone, but he doesn't say anything. If Stiles is comfortable like this right now, Derek won't disturb him. He continues rubbing Stiles' back, all the while tamping down the urge to bound around in excitement.

Suddenly, Stiles gives a little grunt and goes stiff, one hand squeezes the smoothie cup so hard the plastic cracks while the other hand claws at Derek's back.

"Stiles!?" Derek exclaims. Stiles presses his forehead hard against Derek's shoulder and doesn't say anything. He starts breathing hard through his nose, like earlier, and it sounds like he might be grinding his teeth. The smoothie cup finally gives way and collapses inward in the strength of Stiles' grip. Cold liquid starts sliding down Derek's chest and Stiles makes a worried noise.

"Shh," Derek soothes. "It's alright." This _has_ to be a contraction. Stiles never reacted like this over a simple cramp. He holds Stiles close and whispers soothing nonsense to him until Stiles' body relaxes again and he sags a bit in Derek's arms.

"That was 15 minutes after the last one," Samuel announces, clearly keeping an ear out from the living room. "The last three we timed were 20 minutes apart each. I think it's time to consider getting things ready to leave quickly if we have to. Do you want me to call your father?"

Stiles nods against Derek's shoulder.

"He says yes," Derek calls over to the living room. "I think we'll need to get him cleaned up first though."

"Did his water break already!?" Samuel asks, followed by a noise that makes Derek think he's jumped to his feet.

"No, it's just smoothie," Derek says.

"Alright, I'll call the sheriff and then we'll go from there," Samuel says.

Derek nods, even though his father can't see him. Then he leads Stiles out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom. He sits Stiles on the toilet and starts the shower.

As the water warms up, Derek's heart starts pounding.

Looks like this is it.

Today's the day they finally get to meet their son.

***

***


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a note for the next couple of chapters: i have limited knowledge of labour and delivery

Even outside the contractions, everything hurts.

Stiles had thought that he'd be excited for this day to finally arrive, but maybe he'll be excited later because right now everything is just pain.

He's also mildly terrified and so, so glad that Derek is here with him.

Derek helps Stiles get undressed and into the shower, and Stiles barely thinks about how this is the first time Derek is seeing him naked with his _everything_ on full display. Normally he'd be embarrassed but right now he's literally in labour ( _ohgodohgodohgod_ ) and can't quite bring himself to care about much else.

He's sure Derek isn't too interested in what he looks like right now anyway. He seems more focused on making sure Stiles stays balanced in the tub. His arms are spread open, prepared to catch Stiles in case he tips in either direction. It's colder in the shower like this, since the curtain is still open, and water is getting on the floor, but Stiles doesn't care about that right now.

He drags a washcloth slowly over himself, wiping away smoothie, sweat, and dried milk. He must be taking longer than he realizes because suddenly his back cramps horribly and his belly feels like it's being squeezed in a vice grip. His knees go weak, but Derek instantly grabs him before he can go down. Then Derek is hugging him again, half in the shower and getting soaked by the spray. Stiles breathes harshly and rolls his forehead against Derek's shoulder until the pain and pressure let up.

"Fuck," he says, panting. "Was that 15 minutes?"

"It might've been," Derek says. "Dad!" He calls over his shoulder, through the closed bathroom door. "Was that 15 minutes?"

"Just about!" Samuel calls back. "I'll restart the timer. The sheriff is on his way over."

"Okay, let's get you out," Derek says.

"You're all wet," Stiles says, carefully climbing out of the tub as Derek's supports his weight.

"I'll be fine for another few minutes," Derek says. "We'll get you dried off and sitting down first." Derek grabs a towel from somewhere nearby and starts drying Stiles off. Stiles closes his eyes and lets him do it. Once Derek deems him dry enough, he wraps the towel around Stiles' waist and then grabs another one to wrap around his shoulders. Then he ushers him out of the bathroom and down the hall to the bedroom.

***

One contraction later, Stiles is back in the living room, clean and dry, under the watchful eye of both Samuel and the sheriff. Derek is in the shower, having had to be convinced that Stiles would be fine without him for a few minutes.

Stiles can't bring himself to do much more than sit on the couch and watch as his dad and Samuel move around the apartment checking that everything is in order and grabbing Stiles' hospital bag from the nursery. He should be doing that himself but he 's too sore and heavy and he's afraid that moving even an inch will set off another contraction, even though he knows that's not how it works.

Reality is slowly setting in that soon, most likely in just hours, his son will be here. Soon he won't have this massive weight attached to his front, it'll be in his arms and needing to be changed, fed, protected, cared for... loved. Stiles knows he'll be up to the challenge, especially as he knows that Derek will be with him every step of the way. What mostly worries him is the stretch of unknown between now and then.

Labour and delivery isn't a complete mystery to Stiles, he's been told enough and Googled enough so that he knows the facts of what he's about to go through. But he's never experienced it before. The contractions themselves have already surprised him in their intensity and painfulness, and he knows they're only going to get worse from here. Reading something off a webpage is leagues different than experiencing it firsthand

Derek is soon out of the shower and he makes a beeline for Stiles as soon as he gets to the living room.

"How're you feeling?" Derek asks, sitting next to Stiles on the couch. Stiles leans into Derek's side and Derek throws an arm around his shoulders, allowing Stiles to snuggle in closer.

"I'm so sore," Stiles admits. "I--" The next contraction takes him by surprised and he clamps his mouth shut to avoid crying out.

"Oh, 13 minutes that time," Samuel says. His voice sounds distant, the rush of blood in Stiles' ears making it hard to hear. Stiles presses his face into Derek's chest, and tries to focus on the feeling of Derek's hand in his hair to drown out the pain.

He's honestly not sure how much of this he'll be able to take.

***

Sometime in mid-afternoon, Derek helps Stiles up off the couch so that he can move around and shake out the stiffness in his legs.

The moment he's upright, however, Stiles feels a trickle of liquid start snaking down his thigh.

"What?" he asks, startled. He clutches Derek's arm and looks down, but of course he can't see anything past his massive belly.

"What's wrong?" Derek asks.

"I th- AUGH!" The trickle becomes a spurt and then Stiles is hit with the most intense contraction yet. Not even ten minutes after the previous one. The pain almost brings him to his knees; he can't stay upright even with Derek's help. Stiles is barely aware of Derek settling him down on the couch, at the edge of the cushion.

"Are his pants wet?" The sheriff asks.

"I think his water just broke," Samuel says.

"Oh god," Stiles whimpers.

"I'll get him a change of pants," Samuel says.

"Derek, where are your keys, I'll get the car ready," the sheriff says.

"Jacket pocket," Derek says. "Stiles, breathe." Stiles pants harshly until the pain passes, but the pressure doesn't ease up completely. He rolls his hips to try and get more comfortable, but it doesn't help.

"Okay, that's definitely a sign we have to go," Samuel says, returning with a pair of sweatpants. He and Derek help Stiles change and then start the process of getting him down to the car.

Thank god for elevators because, even if their apartment is only on the second floor, Stiles doesn't think he can deal with stairs right now. Another contraction hits just as they're getting off the elevator and they have to stop. They're getting really close together now.

Stiles hopes that there's no one else hanging around the lobby as he gasps and whines against the pain into Derek's chest. He doesn't even want to know what he looks like right now. Derek is rubbing his back again, which doesn't help with the pain but at least it's somewhat comforting.

Why can't this be like TV shows and movies where the omega practically has one contraction and the baby just seems to slide out on its own?

When Stiles can walk again, he's hurried into Derek's Camaro, which is idling in front of the building with the sheriff in the driver's seat. Samuel hops into the passenger seat and Derek settles Stiles with him in the backseat, and soon they're on their way.

***

The sheriff pulls the car up to Beacon Hills Memorial's ER entrance and Samuel quickly darts out. Stiles, coming off the tail end of another contraction, pants helplessly and would rather not move from where he's sitting, thank you very much. But he's eventually coaxed out once Samuel returns with a wheelchair.

"You get him signed in and I'll go park the car," the sheriff says. "I'll meet you all inside. Should I call anyone while I'm out here?"

"I'll call the family," Samuel says. "Let them know what's going on."

"I don't want your mother here," Stiles blurts out as Derek helps him into the wheelchair.

"She won't be here," Derek assures him. He turns the wheelchair around and steers Stiles into the ER, where a nurse is waiting to take him to the maternity ward.

"Hello, Mr Hale," the nurse says. "Looks like we're going to have a baby today."

"Looks like," Stiles agrees.  The nurse takes one of his arms and loops a plastic hospital bracelet around his wrist. Stiles studies the bracelet as the nurse does the same to Derek. The bracelet has a line for Stiles' name and his alpha's name. He smiles.  Then he doubles over as much as he's able in the chair when another contraction hits. They're really coming close together now. The sheriff has rejoined them by the time Stiles feels like he can be moved again. He flops his head back and takes in deep, gulping breaths. He's already so tired and he hasn't really even done anything yet.

"Ready to go?" Derek asks. He's crouched on the floor next to the chair, one hand in Stiles'.

"We can get you settled into a room right away," the nurse promises.

"Can you make it stop hurting?" Stiles asks.

"We'll do our best," the nurse says. That's going to have to be good enough for now. Stiles nods and Derek rises to his feet and gets behind the wheelchair.

"Stiles?" Stiles' head turns at the sound of his name and he spots Melissa McCall coming out from behind a curtained-off area. Stiles doesn't have time to respond, not that he's sure he would, because Derek quickly starts wheeling him away. He looks over his shoulder, past Derek, to see the sheriff approaching Melissa. Then they turn a corner and Stiles puts her out of his mind.

He has more important things to worry about right now.

***

Dr Kaneko shows up after Stiles ha s changed into a backless hospital gown and is getting settled into his bed and being hooked up to different monitors by a small team of nurses. Including a catheter, which is  fun .

"Hello, Stiles," Dr Kaneko says. "How are you feeling?"

"Gotta say, I've had better days," Stiles says.

"I imagine," Dr Kaneko says. She shucks off her white doctor's coat to reveal a set of scrubs underneath, then she produces a pair of surgical gloves and snaps them on. Stiles eyes them warily. He knows what's coming next. Derek, sitting in a chair next to Stiles' bed, looks between Stiles and the doctor. "How are you doing, Derek?"

"I'm good," Derek says. "I think I get the easy job today."

"That you do," Dr Kaneko says. "So I'm told your water already broke, Stiles." Stiles nods. "Good. That means things are progressing nicely. I just have to check to see how much you've dilated so far. Have you had a chance to evacuate your bowels at all today?" Since Stiles' only opening is his anus, the internal opening to the digestive tract gets blocked off by the widening cervix so the only thing passing through will be the baby. It's not Stiles' idea of a good time, but there's less chance of contamination and infection during the delivery that way. Female omegas have both an anus and a vagina, so they don’t have quite the same issue.

"I had the urge this morning, but nothing happened when I tried to go," Stiles says. "Then the urge went away." That had been Stiles' first clue that something might be up. Then the first not-a-cramp hit him and he'd called Samuel for advice, since he'd been through this three times already.

"I'll make a note of that for later," Dr Kaneko says. The nurses finish inserting IVs and applying leads and anything else that needs applying and leave the room, closing the door behind them. Dr Kaneko approaches the bed. "Alright, Stiles, if you want to spread your legs apart for me, please?" Stiles does as he's told. Derek helps him turn onto his back and bring his knees up and hold his legs open as Dr Kaneko arranges Stiles' blanket so that he's covered but she still has access.

The feeling of the doctor inserting her fingers is awkward an d uncomfortable, but at least it doesn't hurt. Dr Kaneko is quick, and she soon has her hand out. Derek helps Stiles turn back to his side as the doctor removes her gloves.

"Just about six centimeters," she says. "You're progressing quite well. How would you rate your pain so far, Stiles?"

"I would like to see your pain med distributor, if you don't mind," Stiles says. Dr Kaneko smiles at him.

"I'll get the anesthetist down here to administer an epidural," she says. "Once that's done, you'll be able to have some visitors while we wait for this baby to decide to make an appearance. You will only be allowed two support persons during the birth itself, though."

"My dad and my husband," Stiles says, nodding.

"Good," Dr Kaneko says. "Well, I will be checking in on you periodically. Let the nurses know if you need anything. The nurses will also be able to get ahold of me if something happens. I'll go get your epidural sorted."

"Thanks," Stiles says. Dr Kaneko leaves the room. Stiles lets his head sink back into the pillow and sighs, only to stiffen up again as another contraction starts up. One of the machines next to the bed starts beeping and spitting out paper. Stiles reaches out blindly and Derek finds his flailing hand.

"That's it," Derek says, letting Stiles crush his hand in a tight grip. "Breathe, Stiles." Stiles pants, pressing his and Derek's clasped hands against his forehead. The contraction starts to ease off, and Stiles lets his breath out in a long sigh. "There you go."

"Isn't there a way to just skip this part and get to the part where the baby's already out?" Stiles whines.

"I'm sure if there was my dad would've mentioned it," Derek says.

"Ugh," Stiles says.

***

Stiles is disappointed to find out that the epidural does not make the contractions completely painless.

"I feel cheated," Stiles mutters, glaring over his shoulder at the machine that tracks his contractions. It's been a few hours since he was first admitted and things seem to have slowed down tremendously. Dr Kaneko has been back twice since the first time and Stiles has only made it to eight centimeters dilated so far. It's late afternoon, almost evening, and Stiles is tired and cranky.

And he hasn't even had to try pushing yet.

"You could probably sleep through most of them now," Samuel offers, sitting in a chair next to Derek's. "The epidural should dull them enough that they won't wake you up." Stiles considers it, but he's not quite sure if he'll manage it with people constantly walking past his room, nurses in and out, and Dr Kaneko insisting on checking him every hour or so. Derek's family – minus Talia and Aaron – had all shown up in the room at one point to say hello, and then set up camp in a little waiting room down the hall. Derek's friends are being kept updated by text.

"Just a nap would probably help," Derek says.

"You'll need your strength for later," the sheriff adds from where he's standing at the door. He hadn't been able to loan one of his deputies for guard duty, not if he also wanted to stick around for the birth of his first grandchild, so he's appointed himself for the task. Stiles tries not to think about what he has to guard Stiles from.

"I suppose," Stiles says. He's still lying on his side on the bed, one hand stroking his belly and the other still holding on to one of Derek's. Derek's other hand is on Stiles head, gently stroking through his hair.

"Just try it," Derek says. "Worst case scenario nothing happens."

"Yeah," Stiles says. It's not like he isn't tired. But still.

"Just try," Derek says again. "I'll still be here the whole time. And so will your dad." Stiles blinks up at Derek once and closes his eyes. He supposes it wouldn't hurt to try.

***

***


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: non-graphic childbirth

Derek isn't surprised at all when Stiles actually does fall asleep. The poor man had woken up exhausted this morning and apparently his day didn't get much better from there.

Stiles still has one of Derek's hands in a slack grip, and Derek doesn't want to move in case he dislodges it. The sheriff glances back a few times from his place in the doorway, always with an approving look.

"Here comes another one," Samuel says, gesturing with his head at the contraction monitor. Derek watches Stiles, who starts grimacing in his sleep. Derek hopes that his dad was right when he said that Stiles would be able to sleep through these now. The catheter they'd put in helps with the peeing issue, but it won't do anything for the pain. After a few tense minutes, Stiles' face smooths back out and he stays asleep.

"Oh good," Derek says on a sigh, leaning forward in his chair and resting his head on the bed.

"At least he'll be a bit more rested for later," Samuel says. He has his phone in his hand and he's poking at the screen. Probably sending someone a text.

"Did Mom say anything about not being allowed to come here?" Derek asks, not raising his head from the bed.

"She said a few things," Samuel says. "But she put herself in this position. You know anyone who asks about this later she's just going to tell them that she stayed back to babysit Aaron."

"Of course she is," Derek says, rolling her eyes. "So what's going to be her excuse for why she won't have a relationship with this grandchild? Because that's where this is all headed if she doesn't change her tune."

"Oh I'm sure she'll come up with something ridiculous," Samuel says. They both turn towards the door when someone knocks on the doorframe. Natalie is standing there with a paper bag from a local bakery in one hand.

"Thought I'd see if any of you wanted a snack," she says, handing the sheriff a pastry.

"I'll wait 'til later," Derek says. He doesn't really feel right eating something while Stiles can't.

"Eat something now, while he's asleep," Samuel says. "If not now, you might not have time for a while."

"I got something for Stiles for later," Natalie says. "It'll be waiting for him after the baby is born." Derek relents and Natalie hands him a banana chocolate chip muffin from her bag. "I asked Cora and she said you like these."

"Thanks," Derek says. He finishes off the muffin in a few large bites, hungrier than he'd realized. It suddenly occurs to him that he hadn't had a chance to eat lunch today. He hadn't even gotten to drink the smoothie he'd bought. It's probably still sitting on the kitchen table at home. At least Stiles had had his, so he isn't running on empty.

Stiles suddenly shifts in the bed and he grimaces. The contraction monitor is going off again. Derek swipes a thumb back and forth across the back of Stiles' hand that he's still holding. He shuffles in his chair a bit, trying to get more comfortable.

He settles in for more waiting.

***/***

Stiles is rudely awoken from his nap by what is probably the most painful contraction he's ever felt.

It is very disorienting to go from sleeping peacefully to immediately wide awake and in pain. Stiles wouldn't recommend it.

"Stiles!" Derek exclaims. His hand is still in Stiles' and Stiles squeezes it hard as the pain rolls through him , a sound coming out of his mouth that's a cross between a scream and a moan . Oh god, and he'd thought the contractions hurt  _ before _ .

"What's happening!?" Derek exclaims. The contraction eventually eases off and Stiles' breathing starts to come out in gasps. But the pressure in his hips and pelvis is still there, most likely dulled by the epidural but still very much felt.

"It hurts!" Stiles whimpers. He reaches for Derek with his other hand and grasps a handful of his shirt. "Make it stop!"

"I'll go get the doctor," Samuel says. "Looks like it might be time. I'll see you boys later. Good luck, Stiles." Stiles barely registers him leaving, suddenly caught up in another painful contraction. He can't help but cry out as he feels like his insides are being ripped apart. Derek tries to soothe him, rubbing his side and belly and whispering encouragements into his ear that Stiles barely takes in.

The pain eases again, but the pressure is unrelenting. Tears run down his cheeks as he sucks in huge gulps of air through his mouth.

Then Dr Kaneko sweeps into the room, decked out in scrubs, gloves, and surgical mask, and approaches the bed. The sheriff closes the door behind her and stands in front of it.

"Alright, Stiles," she says calmly. "Looks like you might be ready to start pushing. Just one more quick check to make sure and then we'll get things moving. Dad, Grandpa, there are some extra scrub jackets in that cabinet over there if you want to suit up?" The sheriff takes the hint and gets out the scrubs as Derek helps Stiles get into position so that Dr Kaneko can check him out.

"You're delivering the baby here?" Derek asks. "In _this_ room?"

"As long as there are no complications – and I'm not expecting any – this room doubles as a delivery room," Dr Kaneko says. She folds back Stiles' blanket and takes his gown with it so that his bottom half is completely exposed. Luckily, Derek and the sheriff seem to take that as a hint to stay near the head of the bed as they put on their scrub jackets. Dr Kaneko's examination is thankfully quick.

"Fully dilated," she says. "And I'm pretty sure I felt the top of baby's head, so things are moving along smoothly." Another pain rolls through Stiles and he gasps in surprise. The pressure in his hips is immense. "Do you feel like you need to push, Stiles?"

"I don't know!" Stiles cries. "There's a lot of pressure!"

"Perfect," Dr Kaneko says. Then she goes over to the door, opens it, and steps out of the room.

" _What_!?" Stiles shrieks.

"Shh," Derek soothes. "I can still see her in the hallway. She's still here."

"It hurtssssss," Stiles whines.

"It's alright," the sheriff says on Stiles' other side. "It'll be over soon." He's right, because soon Dr Kaneko is back with two nurses, one of whom is wheeling a glass bassinet. Dr Kaneko and the other nurse come back to the bed and start messing around with something on the bedframe.

"Stiles," Dr Kaneko says. "We're just going to raise the head of the bed a bit to get you in a better position to push. Don't be alarmed." While they're occupied with that, Stiles grabs the front of Derek's scrub jacket, ripping the material a bit.

"Derek," he says. "Derek, promise that you'll stay with the baby the whole time.  _ Do not let him out of your sight _ !" That last bit is pushed out through gritted teeth as another contraction takes hold. They're coming one right after the other now.

"I promise," Derek says, holding tight to Stiles' hand. "I'll stay with him every step of the way. But first you have to get him out."

"Oh, I will," Stiles says. The head of the bed has been raised – Stiles hadn't even noticed it happening – and he's now in a half-reclined position, not quite sitting up, and Dr Kaneko is guiding his feet onto some kind of stirrup setup that Stiles is pretty sure wasn't there before. He'd ask about them, but they're really of no consequence now that his hips feel like they're trying to crack apart.

"Okay, Stiles," Dr Kaneko says, now sitting on a stool between Stiles' spread legs. "On the next contraction, you're going to push as hard as you can for a count of ten. Ready?"

Stiles braces his feet against the stirrups and waits for the pain and pressure to build up again.

When it does, he screams.

***/***

Stiles is amazing.

Derek himself feels pretty useless in the grand scheme of things right now. All he's doing is standing there and letting Stiles squeeze his hand so hard he feels like it'll break. But that's nothing compared to what Stiles must be feeling. Stiles is the one doing all the work. Stiles is the one grunting and straining and crying and pushing to get their son into the world and Derek is honestly not sure how he has the strength to be doing all that after first dealing with half a day of painful labour. Not to mention the emotional baggage Stiles has been carrying around since he first got back to Beacon Hills all those months ago.

Derek had often heard the saying that no one would call an omega weak after witnessing one give birth. He has a whole new understanding of what it means now.

Stiles is strong. He's survived Theo's manipulations and abuse, escaping from him even after all hope seemed lost. He's made it through the horrific betrayal of a once trusted and loved friend. He continuously lives with the after-effects of those things and still manages to get up in the morning and face each day as it comes. He'd found the courage to trust again and share his life with Derek. And now this.

He's fucking _amazing_.

And Derek loves him.

***

"Another big push, Stiles, we're almost there," Dr Kaneko encourages. Stiles has been pushing for an hour now, and Derek can tell that he's flagging. His face is flushed and sweaty and tears are running down his cheeks. His chest is heaving up and down as he takes gasping breaths through the pain of contractions and pushing.

"I can't," he says, voice cracking. His head flops to one side, away from Derek. "Dad, tell them I can't."

"Stiles, you can," the sheriff says. He has a hold on Stiles' other hand and he grips it tight, even as Derek is sure that Stiles is squeezing twice as hard in return. "You've already come this far. I know you can go the rest of the way." Stiles takes a shuddering breath and turns to Derek.

"Derek," he whimpers. Derek leans down and presses his forehead to Stiles' sweaty temple.

"You heard the man," he says. "You can do this. After everything you've been through to get to this point, you know you can do anything."

"It hurts," Stiles whines.

"I know," Derek says. "I know. But you can handle it. And once the baby's out you won't have to push anymore. You'll be done and then you'll have your baby and then you can sleep or eat or do whatever you want."

"I wanna sleep," Stiles says.

"One more big push, Stiles," Derek says. "Then you can sleep."

"One more big push," Stiles repeats.

Derek is made a bit of liar here because it actually takes two big pushes before Stiles goes rigid and lets loose a hoarse cry, and then Dr Kaneko is announcing "The head is out!"

"Good!" the sheriff exclaims. "You're doing so good, Stiles!" Stiles isn't paying attention to him, or to Derek. His head is tipped back and his eyes are closed. He's panting hard and sweat is now running down his face, mixing with the tears.

"Little pushes to get the shoulders out, Stiles," Dr Kaneko says. "Then it's all easy from there." Stiles does as he's told, bracing himself on the bed stirrups and Derek and the sheriff's hands.

"Good, good," Dr Kaneko says, looking down. Derek can't see what's happening past the blanket draped across Stiles' spread knees. He hopes that 'good' means that the baby is actually coming out. Stiles' breaths are coming out in hoarse sobs and his head thrashes back and forth.

"Little pushes, Stiles," Dr Kaneko says. "Almost there." Stiles grunts and whines and heaves out shaky breaths to the soundtrack of Dr Kaneko's encouragement.

Until finally…

"GAH!" Stiles expels a held breath with a shout and then Dr Kaneko is lifting a wet, gangly baby up from between Stiles' legs. Her eyes crinkle at the corners in a way that says she's smiling behind her mask.

"There we are!" she announces. The baby is quiet, but once he's placed on Stiles' chest and one of the nurses rubs him down with a towel, he starts flailing and squalling.

"Oh my god!" Stiles gasps, and then bursts into tears.

"Good job, Stiles!" the sheriff exclaims, his own eyes looking very wet.

"You did so well, Stiles," Derek says. He presses a kiss to Stiles' temple. He can't stop his own tears as he watches Stiles cuddle the baby to his chest, still crying and breathing heavily, but with a big beaming smile.

"Hey," Stiles says, voice watery. "Hey, baby, you're actually here."

"He sure is," Derek says. Derek puts a hand on the baby's back, practically covering it. Stiles smiles up at Derek.

"He's perfect," he says.

"Yeah," Derek agrees. The baby curls his knees up and keeps crying. Stiles presses his lips to the baby's still damp head and closes his eyes, looking the most content that Derek's probably ever seen him. Dr Kaneko clamps the umbilical cord and offers Derek a pair of surgical scissors to cut it. He does, feeling every inch a new father in this moment.

Then the nurse comes back and makes a move to take the baby. Stiles reacts by clutching the baby tighter to him, eyes snapping open and wild.

"No!" he exclaims.

"Stiles," Dr Kaneko says, soothingly. "They have to take the baby to clean him up and measure his vitals. He will be returned to you as soon as they're done. In the meantime, there's still the placenta to deliver. And I'd like to see you pass excrement as soon as possible."

"But…" Stiles protests.

"Stiles, I'll go with them," Derek says. Stiles turns big, worried eyes on him. "I promised you I'd stay with him at all times, and I meant it. I'll make sure they bring him back to you. Okay?"

"You'll keep him safe?" Stiles asks.

"Yes," Derek says. "Your dad will be with you, I'll be with the baby. You'll both be okay." Only then does Stiles let the nurse take the baby. Derek gives Stiles a lingering kiss on the forehead before getting up and following the nurse as she places the baby in the bassinet and starts wheeling him out of the room.

***

Baby Boy (Omega) Hale is a respectable 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measures 22 inches long. He's completely bald aside from one tuft of blond hair across the center of his head, like a wilted mohawk. His lungs must have amazing capacity because his cries are loud and long as the nurse does all her cleaning and checks under Derek's watchful gaze.

They're in another room down the hall that looks like an exam room. Scales, measuring tapes, exam table, and other assorted medical supplies line the built-in counters. The nurse has the baby on the exam table and is in the process of diapering him.

"Well, Mr Hale," the nurse says at last, writing something on a clipboard sitting on the table next to the baby. "Looks like everything is in order. You and your husband have a perfect baby boy."

"Yes," Derek agrees.

"I have the registration paperwork for him here, if you'd like to look over it while I finish up with this little guy," the nurse says, handing Derek the clipboard. She jiggles the baby's foot and is rewarded with a trembling cry. The baby is clearly unhappy at the moment. The nurse is unflappable as she quickly affixes a tiny plastic bracelet around the baby's ankle, an ID that marks him as belonging to Derek and Stiles and no one else. Derek's gaze flits between the paperwork and the baby as the nurse starts wrapping the baby in a blanket.

The form for the birth certificate is the first page on the pile. The date and time of birth have already been filled in, along with the baby's height and weight. The very first line is for the baby's name, and Derek just stares at it blankly.

He and Stiles still haven't thought of any names.

Dammit.

Well, that'll be a problem for later.

Derek scans the forms for the alpha sire's section and quickly fills that in. He double checks the information to make sure it's correct – not wanting to risk any opportunity for an error to screw them over this late in the game – and then signs where he's indicated to sign. Stiles will have to fill in the section for the omega mother so Derek tucks the clipboard under his arm to bring back to the room.

The nurse places the baby – now wrapped tightly in a receiving blanket with a little knit cap on his head - in the glass bassinet. The baby is quiet now, probably more comfortable in the warm confines of the blanket. Derek takes a second to stroke a finger down the baby's impossibly smooth cheek. He still can't quite believe that this is who Stiles has been carrying inside him this whole time, and that he's finally here.

The nurse smiles at Derek and starts wheeling the bassinet from the room. Derek follows closely as they make their way down the hall and back into Stiles' room.

***

***


	28. Chapter 28

Stiles doesn't relax the entire time the baby is out of the room.

Even while Dr Kaneko helps him deliver the placenta and makes sure he evacuates his bowels (neither of which are particularly pleasant), all Stiles wants to do is jump up from the bed and find his child. Never mind that he barely has enough strength to even stand up, and wouldn't get very far if he tried, he wants his baby.

The sheriff manages to placate him by reminding him that Derek is with the baby and that the baby is safe. But Stiles still doesn't calm down until a nurse wheels the baby back in the room in the glass bassinet, with Derek following close behind.

"Derek!" Stiles exclaims when he sees them. The nurse pushes the bassinet next to the bed and stands back, letting Derek crowd in. Stiles lurches towards the bassinet, ignoring the pain in his everything, grabbing the edge of the bassinet with both hands.

"Stiles, sit back," the sheriff says. "I'll hand him over to you." The sheriff walks around the bed to the bassinet and expertly lifts the baby out. Stiles immediately holds his arms out in anticipation. They're shaking slightly.

"Give him," he says. The sheriff lays the baby in Stiles' arms, but doesn't let go until Stiles is sat back – the bed is still in a slightly upright position – and can help support the baby with his body. Stiles looks down at the baby in his arms and is instantly smitten.

"Oh my god," Stiles breathes. "He's gorgeous." Everything around him seems to fade away as he stares at the baby. All his outside problems disappear and all is right in his world in this moment in time. The baby's eyes are closed and his delicate little lashes are fanned against his chubby cheeks. His tiny nose is slightly turned up, like Stiles', and his eyebrows are blond. Stiles softly strokes the baby's cheeks, and the baby opens his eyes, tiny brow furrowing.

Stiles' heart feels like it's about to explode with the amount of love he's feeling right now.

This. This is what everything he's worked so hard for all these months has been for.

"Derek," Stiles says. "He's really here." He glances up to see Derek standing next to the bed, watching them both with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.

"He really is," Derek agrees. He props a hip on the bed and stretches an arm along the end of the bed, behind Stiles' head. "We still never got around to choosing his name, though." Stiles huffs out a laugh and lets his head fall back against Derek's arm.

"Of course we didn’t," he says.

"You have time," the sheriff says. "I'm gonna go let everyone know what's up. I'll see you two in a bit. Congratulations, both of you."

"Thanks, Dad," Stiles says. The sheriff leans over to kiss Stiles on the head and then leaves the room. He closes the door behind him, leaving Stiles and Derek alone with the baby and a nurse. Stiles carefully braces the baby with one arm and starts unwrapping the blanket with the other. He pulls out one tiny arm and marvels at the tiny hand and tiny fingers attached to it.

"How can he be this small?" Stiles asks. "He didn't feel small coming out." Derek laughs out loud and pokes at the baby's hand with a finger. The baby's tiny fingers instantly grasp Derek's larger one and Stiles just about dies.

"Oh," Derek says, sounding choked up.

"Here," Stiles says. He slowly shuffles over on the bed to make more room for Derek. Derek slides onto the bed, pressed shoulder to shoulder with Stiles and still with the baby clutching his finger. Stiles shifts the baby around so that he's now being held by both him and Derek at the same time. They both stare down at the baby, who is making cute little grunting noises and trying to stick a fist into his mouth.

"He's perfect," Derek says.

"He really is," Stiles agrees.

***

The nurse gets Stiles to attempt to breastfeed, but it doesn't seem like the baby gets much out of it because he sucks once or twice and then pulls away crying. Then Stiles starts crying because what was the point of growing boobs if they aren't going to do what they're supposed to.

"Sometimes it takes a day or two for milk to come in," the nurse says gently. "In the meantime, we have a selection of formula on offer."

"We brought some with us," Derek says.

"Yeah," Stiles says, trying to wipe his face on his shoulder without disturbing the baby. "It's in the bag... Where's the bag?"

"It's over there on the floor, I'll get it," Derek says. He slides off the bed and Stiles instantly feels cold on that side. The baby is still suckling off and on, but it's clear he isn't getting anything from it, and Stiles doesn't feel anything coming out.

"Will I feel it when the milk comes in?" Stiles asks. "Or do I just leak everywhere like before?"

"You'll eventually start to feel a heaviness in your breasts," the nurse says. "That will be your first clue. Once that happens, you can put baby back to the breast to see what happens."

"Got it," Derek says. He returns to the bed with a bottle of ready-made formula. After approval from the nurse, he gets the bottle ready and holds it out to Stiles.

"Do you want to feed him?" Stiles asks. Derek blinks at Stiles in shock.

"Really?" Derek asks.

"Yeah," Stiles says. "I already got all this time with him. I mean, I carried him around for nine months. I think you deserve to have a turn."

"If you're sure," Derek says, eyes round.

"Get over here," Stiles says. Derek does as he's told. He sits carefully on the bed and Stiles passes the baby to him. Derek cradles the baby in his strong arms, looking down at him like he's the most precious thing in the world.

"He's so... light," Derek says.

"He is _now_ ," Stiles says. He pulls the top of his gown back over his chest and snuggles up to Derek, resting his head on his shoulder. Derek turns to give it a quick kiss before turning back to the baby and offering him the bottle of formula. He wiggles the bottle's nipple into the baby's mouth and the baby fusses a bit before settling on a sucking rhythm.

Stiles and Derek watch, enchanted.

***/***

Stiles is asleep on Derek's shoulder by the time the baby finishes the bottle. Derek isn't surprised after all he went through today. He's so careful as he gets up off the bed without disturbing Stiles, who needs all the sleep he can get at this point.

The nurse helps Derek burp the baby and re-swaddle him in his blanket. Then the sheriff and Samuel tiptoe in.

"How's it going in here?" The sheriff asks softly.

"So far so good," Derek says. "Stiles is asleep."

"I'd say he deserves it," the sheriff says.

"Oh!" Samuel exclaims softly, approaching Derek and the baby. "Isn't he just precious!" He reaches out and runs a finger over the baby's knee, hidden in the blanket. The baby, half asleep and belly full, doesn't even react except to yawn. Derek's insides go gooey at the sight.

"I was just speaking with Dr Kaneko," the sheriff says, settling into a chair next to the bed. "She said that Stiles will spend the night here and be released tomorrow morning as long as everything goes well."

"Is that good?" Derek asks, swaying back in forth where he's standing by the head of the bed.

"It's routine," the sheriff says. "I'd ask if the menagerie outside could come visit, but I don't want to disturb him." He nods at Stiles.

"If they want to come _quietly_ to the door, I'll show them the baby and then they can leave and come back tomorrow," Derek says. "I'll stay the night here."

"I'll be staying as well," the sheriff says. Derek gives him a confused look and the sheriff just shakes his head. "I doubt anything'll happen, but I'd feel better here anyway."

"Did you hear anything from Alabama?" Samuel asks.

"Nope," the sheriff says. "And neither has Peter apparently. Either way, I'm staying." All three men share a look. Derek hates that there has to be this shadow over such an amazing event, but it is what it is.

"Anyway, I'll go tell everyone the news," Samuel says. "Do you just want to stand in the doorway and let them look?"

"Yeah," Derek says.

"Derek, are these the baby's registration papers?" the sheriff asks. Derek turns to see him picking up a clipboard of paper from the nightstand.

"Yeah," Derek says. "I already filled in my section. Stiles can do his when he wakes up." Samuel slips out of the room and Derek shuffles over to the door with the baby. The sheriff putters around the room, dimming the lights and straightening up the bed around Stiles' still form. The nurse points out the call button hanging on the wall over the bed and then leaves the room, meeting the Hale family on her way out.

Laura and Jordan have apparently already gone home, which doesn't surprise Derek seeing that it's getting pretty late and they have a toddler. Cora and Peter are still here, and Isaac had shown up at some point and stuck around. Malia had come and gone sometime between active labour and clean up, but she'd left a gift-store teddy bear behind to give to the baby.

"Oh god, he's so tiny!" Cora almost squeals. She rubs at one of the baby's hands that's sticking out of his blanket. The baby mostly ignores her. "Hi, sweetheart! Derek, he's fucking gorgeous. How's Stiles?"

"He seems to be doing pretty good for what he's been through today," Derek says. "Hopefully he'll sleep for a while tonight."

"You know he's gonna be up the second that baby cries," Peter points out.

"That's true," Derek says.

"So are we finally gonna get to find out what you're calling him?" Isaac asks.

"You'll know when we do," Derek says. Cora, Isaac, and Peter all level him with a flat look. Samuel laughs.

"Seriously, Derek?" Cora asks.

"That's next on the list," Derek says defensively. Cora rolls her eyes at him. The baby starts fussing and whining. He gets one arm out of the blanket and it flails a bit before coming for a rest on Derek's chest. He lets out a cry that Derek hopes Stiles hasn't heard.

"Oh my god, how is even his crying so cute?" Cora asks. "No one likes the sound of babies crying!"

" _Why_ is he crying?" Isaac asks.

"Could be his diaper," Samuel says.

"And this is where I dip out," Cora says. "See you tomorrow, Derek. Let me know when's a good time to come visit."

"One of us will text you at some point," Derek says. Cora and Isaac leave with a wave. Peter following soon after. Derek leads Samuel back into the room with the baby and Samuel talks him through a diaper change in the small bathroom attached to the room. Stiles sleeps through it all, thankfully.

Before Samuel leaves for the night, he holds the baby for a few minutes before passing him off to the sheriff. Derek walks Samuel back to the waiting room, where Samuel stops him.

"Derek," he says. "I just want to say that I'm so proud of you."

"What for?" Derek asks.

"For what you've done here," Samuel says. "There aren't a whole lot of alphas who would do what you did, and certainly not the way you've done it. You and Stiles have created a small family here, a genuine one, even if it all started out pretty... unconventional. You stepped up to the plate when you didn't have to, and you did it out of love , and not guilt or obligation. It takes a special kind of person to do that." 

Derek's jaw drops and he's not quite sure what to say. Samuel just pats him on the shoulder with a smile before turning and walking away, leaving to go home.

Derek walks back to Stiles' room in a bit of a daze. Stiles is the first thing he sees when he walks in, sleeping soundly in the bed, looking soft and comfortable in the dim light. Then he sees the sheriff, sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed and cradling the baby, who is himself back asleep now that he's been fed and changed.

Derek's heart soars.

Why would anyone want to even risk passing up something like this?

***

***


	29. Chapter 29

Derek doesn't know when he fell asleep, or how long he's been asleep.

The room is dark when he suddenly snaps awake, the only light coming in through the slightly open door to the hall and the open door to the attached bathroom.

Derek scrubs at his eyes as he gets up from the chair he'd been sleeping in. He stretches as he gets to his feet, wincing at the stiffness in his back. He shuffles over to the bathroom, past the bed where Stiles is still asleep. Derek squints in the light of the bathroom and finds the sheriff inside, changing the baby's diaper.

"Morning," the sheriff says.

"Is it?" Derek asks, yawning.

"Technically," the sheriff says. "Did you bring any clothes for him in your bag?"

"Yeah, just a second," Derek says. "Did Stiles wake up at all?" He stumbles over to Stiles' hospital bag and rummages around in it until he comes up with a small sleep gown. He brings it over to the sheriff.

"Not once," the sheriff says. "After you fell asleep too I figured I'd do baby duty for now, let you guys get some rest. I gave him another bottle and now he's been changed. He should be set for another few hours, at least."

"Thanks," Derek says. He watches as the sheriff manipulates the baby into the gown, flipping over the mittened sleeves so that the baby's hands are covered. The gown is a bit too big, and the baby looks absolutely adorable in it.

"So," the sheriff says. "He's an omega."

"Yeah," Derek says. He looks at the sheriff, who's looking back at him with a very serious look.

"I'm gonna tell you something, kid," the sheriff says. He starts wrapping the baby back up in the blanket. "I have never once regretted Stiles, and I've never loved him any less because of what he is. But before he was born I was the sort of alpha who didn't give a second thought to how my being an alpha afforded me a lot of privilege in life. Until him, until someone I loved was personally affected in a way that was very obvious to me, I didn't think much about how omegas were treated in this society."

Derek listens quietly. The sheriff picks the baby up off the bathroom counter and cradles him in both arms.

"Raising Stiles wasn't easy, especially not alone. And I made mistakes. My biggest one was focusing too much on what he 'should' be doing as an omega, rather than what he wanted to be doing as 'Stiles', and I almost lost him because of it. I think you're a different alpha than I am. Alphas in your generation tend to be more progressive and open-minded, which gives me hope for the future of omegas like Stiles, who don't really conform to society's ideals of what omegas should be like.

"All that is to say, one alpha parent to another, there is gonna be a lot of times where this kid will suffer because of society's bullshit rules. And maybe he'll be lucky and things will change in his lifetime. You won't be able to fight all the dragons for him, but don't ever let him think, not for one minute, that you aren't on his side. Because I can tell you that that will hurt him more than anything this world will throw at him."

Derek swallows a lump in his throat and nods, unable to speak. The sheriff smiles grimly at him, and then hands him the baby. Derek looks down at his son, lying contentedly in his arms. He has no idea what the world might have in store for him, just because of who he is. Maybe Derek can't fight all the dragons, but, like Stiles, this baby deserves the world, and Derek will be there to help them both get as much of it as they can.

"I won't let him down," Derek says. "Either of them."

The sheriff claps him on the shoulder. "You're a good kid, Derek. Now." He leads the way out of the bathroom, leaving the light on so that they can both see in the dark room. "Maybe when Stiles wakes up the two of you can put your heads together and give that poor kid a name. Calling him 'Baby' is cute now, but it's gonna get him beat up on the regular in high school."

Derek snorts.

***

Somewhere around one or two o'clock in the morning, a nurse comes in to wake Stiles and make him walk around. Stiles is displeased by this.

"Can't I just stay in the bed forever?" he whines.

"Now, now, Mr Hale," the nurse says cheerfully, probably too cheerfully for this time of morning. "We need to make sure there are no issues with your mobility before we send you home. You want to be able to run around after the sprog when he gets older, don't you?"

"Okay, fair enough," Stiles mutters. Derek watches this play out from the comfort (ha) of one of chairs by the bed, baby still asleep in his arms. The nurse proceeds to remove Stiles' catheter, and then she and the sheriff help Stiles get to his feet. Stiles groans and winces the whole way up.

"Oh god, this was a mistake," he says.

"Okay, we're going to go to the bathroom," the nurse says. "Baby steps for now."

"Yeah, that's basically all you'll be getting from me," Stiles says. He shuffles slowly to the bathroom while hanging onto the nurse and his father, who is also tugging along Stiles' IV pole. All three enter the bathroom, which is so small that the sheriff has to stand in the doorway.

"Let's sit down for today," the nurse says, out of sight of Derek. "You can try standing once you have some strength in your legs. I'd like to see if you have any problems urinating without assistance."

"You don't need me to go number two, do you?" Stiles asks. "Because that whole area is feeling a bit… not up to it."

"Not right now, no," the nurse says. "But if you feel the need I'd rather you didn't try to hold it in. Even if it does hurt to go."

"Fine," Stiles says. There's silence. "Um… I can't really go with you both watching me like that." Derek chuckles to himself, then gets distracted by his phone buzzing in his pocket. Shifting the baby to a one-armed hold, he reaches into his pocket with the other hand and pulls out his phone. He has a text from Cora, all it says is ' _MAYDAY_ '.

Another text comes in. A photo, which Derek taps to enlarge.

His heart starts pounding loud in his ears as he registers the screenshot of Ainsley Raeken's latest Facebook status.

_"Almost there! Finally going to get our baby! <3"_

***

Stiles, predictably, freaks out when Derek shows him the text. Because he can't not show him. Not something like this.

"No," Stiles moans. "No, no, no, no!"

"They won't get him, Stiles," Derek says. They're both in the bed now, the baby in Stiles' arms and Derek's arms wrapped protectively around the two of them. The sheriff is out in the hall, barking into his phone at some poor bastard who is definitely now on his bad side.

"But they're coming," Stiles says. "Now! How do they even know?"

"I don't know," Derek says. "But your father will find out and then heads will roll, I'm sure." Derek wracks his brain, trying to figure out who had ratted them out to Theo. None of his friends would dare, and neither would his family.

His mother, maybe?

No. She's been awful to Stiles this whole time, but even she has limits.

Right?

His gut churning, he pulls his phone back out and sends a text to Peter. He has to know for sure, and Peter is more likely to both know the answer and not judge him for asking in the first place.

' _not her_ ' comes Peter's fairly quick reply. ' _whether she likes it or not, that baby is still family. besides, she knows that she has more to lose if she did something like this. your mother can be a total bitch, but she's not a complete monster_ '

"Who's that?" Stiles asks, peering at Derek's phone.

"Peter," Derek says. "He says that my mom isn't the one who tipped off Theo."

"He's sure?" Stiles asks.

"She'd have way more to lose if she did," Derek says. Derek and his mother may be on the outs right now, but he knows that she loves him. And _she_ knows that if she does anything to put Stiles or the baby in danger that Derek would never forgive her. And a lot of the other family members wouldn't either.

"No one made a Facebook post or anything, did they?" Stiles asks.

"I told them not to," Derek says. "And I haven't seen any. They didn't make any posts about the wedding either, so I think they understand what's at stake here." The sheriff walks back into the room, followed by a nurse.

"Okay," the sheriff says. "We have as much under control as we can."

"Are they in the state?" Derek asks.

"Yes," the sheriff hisses. "Apparently, my contacts in Alabama only realized that Theo was gone at the end of their shift and were only going to inform me when they got back to work this morning." Derek's jaw drops. Stiles goes rigid. The baby, definitely picking up on all the tension, starts crying.

"Shh, shh." Stiles tries to soothe him, but it isn't going well. Not with all the distressed pheromones in the air.

"Okay, let's all calm down a bit," the sheriff says. He walks over to the bed and sits on the end of it. "We've got a bit of a head start here. We know that Theo is on his way here, to this hospital. So we can be prepared for him. Hospital security has his photo, if any of them see him they'll detain him immediately. Also, our IT guy checked Ainsley Raeken's Facebook profile and that status is now gone. Possibly she posted that without Theo's knowledge, so that's another point in our favour."

"Do you have any ideas on who tipped him off in the first place?" Derek asks.

"I have a theory," the sheriff says. "I won't get into it now, not until I'm sure." Derek gives him a confused frown while Stiles continues to try and soothe the baby.

"If I can make a suggestion," the nurse says. "You could try comfort nursing. It might help to calm both mother and baby." Stiles and Derek share a look. Derek shrugs.

"Couldn't hurt," he says. The sheriff walks to the other side of the room to make another phone call while Derek and Stiles rearrange themselves and the baby. Soon, the baby is quietly sucking away, seemingly no longer upset. Stiles has one of the baby's hands between his fingers and is softly rubbing at the baby's palm. Derek curls protectively around both of them, one arm under Stiles' holding the baby. The nurse stands next to the bed and watches them, expression serious.

They've attained some semblance of calm, but Derek knows that it's just a façade. It's a Band-Aid solution to the festering wound that is Theo Raeken, and it won't hold forever.

***

Dr Kaneko shows up a little while after, looking a bit surprised that everyone is panicky and on-edge.

"Is something wrong?" she asks, she glances at the nurse standing quietly off to one side. "I was told that Stiles and the baby were both doing well."

"We are," Stiles says, no longer nursing as the baby has managed to fall back asleep in his arms. "It's something else."

"We have reason to believe that someone is on their way here to attempt to kidnap the baby," the sheriff says. Dr Kaneko's eyes widen and her mouth opens in shock, which is probably the most emotion that Derek has ever seen her display.

"Goodness," she says.

"Yeah," the sheriff says.

"Well I'm not sure how far they'll get considering that babies leaving the hospital need to have a matching ID bracelet with the person taking them," Dr Kaneko says.

"He's going to try to say that he's the baby's alpha," Stiles says. "I don't know if that'll make any difference."

"It shouldn't," Dr Kaneko says. "Not in terms of hospital policy, anyway. Your husband will have been registered in the system as the baby's alpha already."

"Is that what these forms are for?" Derek asks, picking up the neglected registration forms from the nightstand. "Because we still haven't passed them in yet."

"No, that is a separate thing," Dr Kaneko says. "But if you want to fill them out right now, I'll get them to administration to fast-track it into our computer system, just in case."

"Derek, hand that over," Stiles says. Derek swaps the clipboard for the baby and watches as Stiles quickly fills in his section. The line for the baby's name is still blank. Stiles and Derek share a look.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Stiles asks him. "Because I've got one."

"I have nothing," Derek says. His mind is a bit of a jumble right now and every time he tries to think of a good boy name it's like he's never heard one before in his life. Despite he himself literally having one. "What did you come up with?"

Stiles taps his pen against the clipboard for a few seconds, biting his bottom lip. "Derek Corey Hale," he says, almost in a whisper. "Junior."

Derek blinks in surprise. "You're seriously going to name him after me?"

"I'm naming him after the two alphas who saved my life," Stiles says, looking at Derek solemnly. "If it weren't for you and Cora, I probably wouldn't be here. And he _definitely_ wouldn't." Derek finds it impossible to speak past the sudden lump in his throat, so he just nods. It gets the message across and Stiles quickly scribbles the name on the form and hands everything to Dr. Kaneko.

"I'll get this submitted right away," she says. "Have you spoken to hospital security about this kidnapping plot?"

"I have," the sheriff says. "We have it sorted." Dr Kaneko nods.

"I'll come back later, when you're being discharged, Stiles," she says. "Hopefully it'll be a simple affair and you and your baby will be home by lunchtime."

"Thank you," Stiles says. Dr Kaneko nods again and leaves the room.

***

With all the activity already going on in the hallway just outside the room (maternity wards are apparently never quiet), Derek is surprised that he's even able to pick out what sounds like a commotion starting down the hall.

His first guess is that something is happening with one of the other mothers or babies, and he hopes that it's nothing too serious. But then he hears what sounds like someone yelling "Stop! You aren't allowed here!" and becomes alarmed.

"What's going on?" Stiles asks, having also clearly heard the same thing. The sheriff sticks his head out the door and looks up and down the hallway.

"Fuck," he says, before rushing out of the room.

"What's happening!?" Stiles asks again.

"Stay here," Derek says. Stiles nods, clutching the baby - Derek Junior - to his chest. Derek leans out the door and scans the hallway. He quickly spots the sheriff a few doors down, gesticulating angrily at an equally angry-looking Scott McCall. And right behind them, looking just as smug as Derek remembers from high school, is Theo fucking Raeken, holding his worried-looking wife by the hand.

Derek doesn't even think, just moves.

He'd always heard the expression 'seeing red', but he'd never experienced it until now as he marches down the hall, eyes locked on Theo.

Theo's smug look turns to one of confusion and he says "Hale?"

Right before Derek hauls back and punches him square in the face, sending him crashing to the floor.

***

***


	30. Chapter 30

Stiles doesn't move off the bed, but he does shuffle over to sit on the side with his feet on the floor, just in case he has to make a quick getaway. He isn't sure how fast he'll be with the baby in his arms and still only being able to shuffle around like an old man, but he'll think of something. At least the IV pole is gone now.

Angry screaming, rising over the usual din of life on the maternity ward, breaks out and Stiles clutches the baby even closer. The baby grunts and squeaks in protest, but Stiles doesn't let up.

There's a lot of shouting happening. Stiles can pick out his dad's voice, and Derek's, and… Scott's?

Stiles slowly gets to his feet and places the baby in the glass bassinet. Then he wheels the bassinet into the bathroom and closes the door. Then, using the wall for balance because everything involving his hips and thighs still hurts like a bitch, he makes his way to the door. Derek hadn't closed it when he ran out earlier, so all Stiles has to do is stick his head through the gap.

The sight a little ways down the hall shocks him.

The first thing that registers is Derek struggling in the hold of a big burly man in a hospital security uniform. Next he spots Scott, sitting on the floor with his hands behind his back, arguing angrily with the sheriff, who's standing over him. Sitting next to Scott is Ainsley Raeken, hands behind her back and tears streaming down her face.

And there, lying on the floor in the middle of the hall, is Theo Raeken being checked over by a woman in scrubs.

Just the sight of Theo, even if he's laid out on the floor, is enough to have Stiles skittering back from the door in panic, losing his balance and falling to his hands and knees with a loud cry. This is the first time in seven months that he's setting eyes on Theo, but the fear is still as stark now as it was then.

"Stiles!" Derek's voice. "Let me go! I need to get back to my husband!"

Footsteps rapidly approach and Stiles panics. He can't get himself up off the floor so he can only cower where he's huddled as a large shadow blocks the light in the doorway.

"Oh fuck, Stiles!" It's Derek. "Shit!"

"Derek!" Stiles exclaims. Derek gets down on the floor with him and gathers him into his arms. Stiles presses his face into Derek's chest. "Derek, I saw Theo!"

"I know. It's alright, your dad's dealing with him," Derek says. "Stiles, where's the baby?"

"I hid him in the bathroom," Stiles says. "Theo won't get him, Derek."

"No he fucking won't," Derek promises. "Do you hurt anywhere? C'mon, let's get you up." Stiles clings to Derek as Derek helps him to his feet. Stiles is pretty sure he didn't hurt himself when he fell, but he literally just gave birth the day before, so everything still hurts. Actually, it hasn't even been a full day since he delivered, he's barely had a chance to start recovering.

Dr Kaneko strides into the room as Derek is getting Stiles settled back in the bed. The noise and commotion out in the hall seems to have gone back to its usual level, which Stiles is taking to mean that Theo has been removed and everything is back to normal.

"Well," she says. "This is shaping up to be one of the top five disastrous cases I've ever had. And the delivery was the most straightforward part of it."

"I'm sorry," Stiles says. His eyes fill with tears that then start to roll down his cheeks. Derek wipes them away with his thumbs.

"Never apologize for another person's poor behaviour, Stiles," Dr Kaneko says. "They'll never learn to take responsibility. Now. I've spoken with some of the security team and we've decided that it would be beneficial to move you to a different part of the hospital. I've been assured that no one else should be coming after you, but as a precaution you'll be placed in a ward where someone wouldn't think to look for a new mother and their child."

"Okay," Stiles says.

"Dr Kaneko," Derek says. "Stiles fell just now. Is it possible for someone to look him over before he's moved?"

"I will take care of that," Dr Kaneko says. She pulls a pair of gloves from the pocket of her white doctor's coat and snaps them on. "After I'm finished, a nurse will come in to administer a mild sedative. I'd like to see you get a bit more rest before you're discharged. You won't have much time to relax at home with a new baby. Where is the baby, by the way?"

"He's in the bathroom," Derek says. "I'll get him." He leaves the bedside with one last sweep over Stiles' cheeks and heads to the bathroom. A nurse walks into the room as Dr Kaneko walks over to the bed.

"I will give you a quick examination, just to make sure you didn't injure yourself in the fall," she says. "Did you fall from the bed?"

"No," Stiles says. "I was standing at the door and I lost my balance getting away from-- From the door. I fell on my hands and knees."

"Alright," Dr Kaneko says. "It's most likely that you just bruised yourself a bit, but we'll still check. Once I'm through, Grant here will administer the sedative and then we'll move you to another ward."

"Derek will come too, right?" Stiles asks. "Little Derek, I mean. The baby."

"He will be with you or your husband at all times," Dr Kaneko promises. "Now, let's cover you a bit with this sheet. I'd like to examine your posterior region first, to make sure it's starting to heal from the delivery."

***

Stiles comes awake slowly, having to drag himself out of the grip of the sedative. He blinks at the sunlight coming in around the blind covering the window. The window that's a lot closer to the bed than he remembers it being. It takes him a minute to remember that he's been moved into a different room. He feels a bit floaty, and spends another minute entertained by the dust motes floating in a thin shaft of sunlight.

Where were these drugs when he was in labour?

"I cannot _believe_ you would even ask me that!" Stiles turns his head at the sound of harsh - but loud - whispers directly outside the door to the room. Whatever ward this is - Stiles can't remember at the moment - it's a lot quieter than the maternity ward, so he can hear the conversation happening out in the hallway.

Turning his head brings the door in his line of sight, and it also reveals Derek sitting in a chair beside the bed with the baby in his arms. Derek smiles as Stiles looks at him.

"Hey," Derek whispers.

"Hi," Stiles whispers back. Derek looks rough, like he hasn't slept. Which makes sense, Stiles would bet that he hasn't. Stiles himself wouldn't have slept without the sedative. Not after Theo had shown up.

"It's a legitimate question! Omegas do stuff like this all the time! You know we've both seen it happen in our lines of work!" Stiles is surprised to recognize Melissa McCall's voice, even as an angry half-whisper.

"Are you serious? You, who spent _years_ warning me to stop treating Stiles like a faceless omega instead of his own person? Are you seriously just dismissing this boy, that you watched grow up, as a manipulative baby-trapper!?" The sheriff's voice. Stiles frowns. Why is his dad arguing with Melissa McCall outside his hospital room? He shoots a confused look at Derek. Derek frowns.

"Melissa is angry that your dad arrested Scott earlier," he whispers.

"Why did he arrest Scott?" Stiles whispers back. His mouth feels cottony and his words come out a bit weird. Possibly the sedative hasn't fully worn off.

"Accessory to kidnapping," Derek says, watching Stiles carefully. Stiles finds that he can't bring himself to react to that. His brain is still a bit foggy.

"Maybe tell me that again when I'm less high," he says. "Is there any water?"

"Scott thought he was helping out a friend!" Melissa's voice, a bit more pleading now than angry. Derek pours a cup of water from a pitcher on the nightstand that Stiles hadn't noticed. There's a straw in the cup that Stiles uses to drink while lying down, because an attempt at sitting up makes the room tilt a bit.

"By exposing my son, his supposed _best friend_ to more danger!?" The sheriff, incredulous. "By ripping my grandson, who is not even a day old yet, out of his mother's arms! That was helping a friend!?"

"I don't think he believed that that's what was going to happen."

"Well tell me what he was honestly fucking expecting, Melissa! What did he think was going to happen when he brought Theo in, hm? Theo, with the wife who was convinced that Stiles was their _surrogate_! What did he think Theo was going to do? Huh?"

"John, I don't…"

"Because I'll tell you what Theo was going to do, which Scott was apparently too stupid to figure out. Either that or he just doesn't care about Stiles at all. Theo was going to take that baby to give to his wife and Stiles was never going to see him again."

"John--"

"And that baby's an _omega_ , Melissa. With the way that Theo treated Stiles for years - oh, don't fucking give me that look, I believe what my son's told me even if Scott doesn't - do you honestly think that baby would be safe with him?"

"I didn't know the baby was an omega."

"That shouldn't matter! That's just extra!"

At this point, Derek goes over to shut the door, blocking off the rest of the argument. Stiles can still hear his father and Melissa talking, but he can no longer make out the words. Derek returns to his chair with a tired sigh.

"You're exhausted," Stiles says.

"Your dad tried to convince me to sleep, but I just couldn't," Derek says. "I keep expecting Theo or Scott to show back up, even though they're in holding." He rubs at one eye with his fingers and yawns. "Your dad actually offered to stay at the apartment with us for a bit, to help out, while the police deal with Theo and them. He said he can't work on the case himself because of his connection to you."

"Hm," Stiles grunts. "Can you bring Little Derek over here?"

"Is that seriously what we're calling him?" Derek asks. He scoots his chair closer to the bed and lays the baby next to Stiles. Stiles props himself up on his side with an elbow and rests his other hand on the baby's belly. Little Derek sleeps on, dressed in a sleep gown and now wrapped up in the blue bear blanket that Derek's friends had given them.

"Baby Derek?" Stiles offers. Derek bends himself nearly in half - which can't be that comfortable - and rests his head and crossed arms on the side of the bed, next to the baby's feet.

"DJ," Derek says. "Had a friend in college who did that with his name." Derek's eyes close and don't open again.

"DJ sounds good," Stiles says.

"Yeah," Derek says, eyes still closed. Stiles moves his hand to run through Derek's hair. Derek hums softly and then Stiles is pretty sure he falls asleep.

Only to snap awake again not even five minutes later when the door opens and the sheriff walks in. He looks just as wrung-out as Derek.

"Oh, you're up, Stiles," he says.

"Somewhat," Stiles says. "Was that Melissa out in the hall with you just now?"

"Yes," the sheriff says, expression darkening. "She just left."

"Oh," Stiles says.

"Yeah," the sheriff says. "So if you're awake I'll go see about getting you discharged. I think it's time we all went home."

"Sounds great," Stiles says.

***

Stiles is so happy to get back home that he starts crying the second he walks through the door.

"What's wrong!?" Derek, supporting Stiles as he walks, asks in alarm. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Everything is happening so much," Stiles sobs. Samuel, who had been waiting for them at the apartment along with Natalie and Cora, leads Stiles and Derek over to the living room couch. The sheriff follows them in with the baby in a carseat, which he then places on the coffee table next to some takeout bags.

"Oh good, you brought food," he says.

"Yes, and I expect you to eat what you're told and then go sleep," Natalie tells him sternly. "You look dead on your feet. All of you."

"But the baby," Stiles says, wiping at his face with his sleeve.

"Don't worry about him," Samuel says. "We'll look after him. We'll even sit with him in your room with you if you want. But you all do really need to eat and sleep. Yesterday was… something, wasn't it?"

"That's one way to put it," the sheriff mutters. "So, what do we have?" What they have is soup and sandwiches from the deli near where Cora and Isaac live in town. Stiles and Derek eat quietly while everyone else exclaims about the baby. Calmness settles over Stiles in the friendly atmosphere in the apartment. This is what he wishes his stay in the hospital could've been like.

Instead he got fear and panic.

Because of Theo. And Scott.

He's angry about that, but he's too tired right now to put any energy in expressing it. Instead, he watches his loved ones fall in love with his son and feels grateful that he gets to have this at all. So many things could've gone wrong, both yesterday and early this morning and at any time over the past seven months, and he considers himself lucky that things have played out the way they have. Even the unpleasant bits.

DJ, still sitting in his carseat on the coffee table, starts crying just as Stiles is finishing his soup.

"Sounds like he might be hungry too," Samuel says. He jiggles one of DJ's tiny legs. DJ is not impressed.

"I'll try feeding him," Stiles says. "In the bedroom." Derek helps Stiles to the bedroom and onto the bed, Samuel following behind them with DJ in his arms. Once Derek has Stiles settled and comfortable propped up with pillows, he stretches out beside him on the mattress, face down, with a groan. Stiles pats him on the back.

"Do you want me to wait outside?" Samuel asks, handing Stiles the baby.

"Um… Maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong?" Stiles asks.

"If it's about not having any milk in," Derek pipes up, speaking into his pillow. "Then it's not something you're doing wrong."

"If your milk isn't in yet, Stiles, I can go grab you a bottle," Samuel says, pointing over his shoulder.

"But why isn't it in yet?" Stiles asks. To his embarrassment, he starts crying. "What kind of mother am I if I can't even feed my kid the way I was literally designed to do it?"

"Hey," Derek says. He shifts onto his side and slings an arm over Stiles' thighs, patting his hip. "Your worth as a mother, and even as an omega, isn't based on how you feed your kid. As long as you feed him what he needs. Even if your milk never comes in, it doesn't mean you love DJ any less."

"I just wanted this one thing to go right," Stiles says, scrubbing at his eyes. "Nearly everything else was a complete shit show. I just wanted this one thing."

"I know," Derek says. "Next time will be better." Stiles blinks down at him in surprise.

"What next time?" he asks. Derek squints at Stiles for a few seconds, then his eyes go wide and his cheeks go red. He hides his face against Stiles' hip, pressing into his thigh.

"Nothing," Derek says, voice muffled. "Forget I said anything. I'm half-asleep over here."

"I'll go grab a bottle, Stiles," Samuel says. There's an amused look on his face as he leaves the room. Stiles looks back down at Derek, still hiding his face.

Next time. Derek wants to have another baby with him. Stiles feels his lips spread into a stupid grin, even as his cheeks are still damp with tears and DJ is still whining in his arms.

Samuel is soon back with a bottle and Stiles quickly presents it to DJ, who quiets down instantly once the formula hits his tongue. Stiles feeds his son for the first time, studying every inch of him from the tuft of blond hair on his head to his tiny feet covered in a footed sleeper.

He still can't quite believe that this little perfectly formed human actually came out of him. He actually wouldn’t mind having another one, even after all the pain he went through birthing this one. His asshole clenches, sending a throb of pain through him.

Of course, he's definitely waiting a few years to even really entertain the idea. But he's sure that DJ would like a little brother or sister. In the future.

He starts humming quietly as DJ eats, looking down at Derek with his face still shoved against Stiles' thigh but who is definitely now asleep. Good. He really needs it.

Stiles needs it too. Hopefully he'll be able to get in a few uninterrupted hours now that they're safe at home with family here to watch over them. Stiles is sure that there'll be more shit to deal with later, concerning Theo, but right now he's comfortable and calm and surrounded by his family. His father, his stepmother, his in-laws, his husband, and his son.

He wants to revel in this place in time for a little while longer.

***

***


	31. Chapter 31

When Derek wakes up he's in his bedroom at home and spooned up against Stiles' back. The light coming in through the half-opened blind is a dull orange, and he can hear a quiet murmur of voices from outside the room.

He yawns, still somewhat tired, and gently removes himself from around Stiles. Stiles is still sound asleep, curled up in a loose fetal position and breathing deeply and evenly. Derek watches him for a few minutes, just soaking in the relaxed atmosphere, enjoying this break from the insanity of the past day.

Eventually, his rumbling stomach prompts him into motion and he eases himself off the bed, making sure that the blankets are fully tucked around Stiles before he leaves the room.

He finds the living room occupied. Natalie is sitting in the armchair reading a book, Samuel is on the couch with a sleeping DJ in his arms, Cora and Isaac are on the other end of the couch having a conversation, and Laura is standing behind the couch near Samuel and admiring the baby. Derek doesn't see the sheriff anywhere, but the door to Stiles' bedroom/the nursery had been shut when he'd passed it so Derek assumes he's asleep in there.

"Hi, Derek." Natalie spots him first. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yeah, thanks," Derek says. "Stiles is still out."

"That's good," Natalie says.

"Oh, Derek," Laura says, turning around and leaning against the back of the couch. "Good timing. Mom wants to talk to you." Derek frowns at her. He scratches at his neck; he needs a shave.

"What for?" He asks.

"Dunno," Laura says with a shrug. "But she's out in the hall right now."

"Why?" Derek asks. He'd never explicitly told his mother that she is no longer welcome at the apartment until she at least apologizes to Stiles, but Talia hasn't come near the place since Stiles moved in. Derek isn't quite sure what she might want now all of a sudden, on the day he's brought his son home.

"Because she wants to talk to you," Laura says slowly, like Derek is a child. "Are you even all the way awake yet?"

"Yes," Derek grouses. "Tell her I'll be out soon. I'm going to take a shower."

"That's a good idea," Laura says. "You definitely need one."

"Laura," Samuel warns. Derek rolls his eyes and heads to the bathroom. He has a quick shower and shave and sprints to his bedroom, wrapped in a towel, to get dressed. Stiles is just waking up when Derek walks in. He's on his back in the bed and rubbing his eyes.

"Hey," Derek says, pulling on clothes at random. "How're you feeling?"

"Sore and awake," Stiles grumbles. He moves his hands from his eyes and blinks exaggeratedly at the ceiling before looking at Derek. "Were my dad and Melissa McCall arguing outside my hospital room in the new ward, or did I hallucinate that."

"No, that happened," Derek says. He remembers the argument that had started out calm before quickly escalating. A burning anger roils in his gut as he remembers how Melissa McCall could actually think, for even a second, that Stiles had actually tried to use his baby to trap Derek into marriage. She hadn't provided a reason, the sheriff had cut her off before she could, but Derek assumes it has to be about money because he can't think of anything else.

"Okay," Stiles sighs. He covers his face with his hands and heaves a shuddering breath. Clearly he'd heard and understood at least some of what had been said. Derek hadn't been sure since Stiles had still been a bit loopy from the sedative at the time. Derek goes over and sits on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," he says. Stiles moves his hands to reveal red-rimmed, tear-filled eyes. Derek's heart breaks a bit. The only thing that Stiles should be focusing on right now is the baby. Instead he has to deal with all this other shit, and Derek hates it.

He quickly snuffs out the thought of 'next time will be better' before it has a chance to fully form because it is _way_ too soon to even be thinking about a next time. Stiles literally _just_ had DJ, and he and Derek haven't even so much as kissed yet, never mind shared a heat. Hell, Stiles hasn't really indicated that he'd even want more children in the future. Never mind with Derek.

"I always thought Melissa and Scott loved me," Stiles says, voice trembling. "Or at least liked me."

"They're both dicks," Derek says simply. He's rewarded with a watery laugh from Stiles. Stiles rolls onto his side and wiggles around until he can rest his head on Derek's thigh. "Whatever their problem is it's completely on them."

"If Scott hadn't pulled all this shit, and Melissa hadn't taken his side, I would've asked her to be DJ's grandmother," Stiles says softly. Derek runs a hand through Stiles' hair. He doesn't say anything, because he can't think of anything to say that isn't a wish to rain down pain and destruction on the McCall's. Which wouldn't help Stiles right now, and is probably not what he wants to hear anyway.

"It's her loss," he says instead. "Speaking of grandmothers, though, I have to go talk to my mother. Apparently she's waiting out in the hall."

"She's here!?" Stiles asks, head shooting up.

"The outside hall," Derek clarifies. "I don't know if she knows we don't want her in here, or if Dad just didn't let her in, but I guess I should go see what she wants."

"What if she wants to see the baby?" Stiles asks.

"It's up to you if you want to let her," Derek says. Stiles hums and taps his fingers against Derek's thigh.

"Can you help me get to the bathroom on your way out?" Stiles asks.

"Sure," Derek says. "D'you want me to put my dad on standby to help you get back out? I think your dad is still asleep."

"You can mention it to him," Stiles says. "But I might, ah... be in there a while." It takes Derek a second to realize what that means, but when he does he winces.

"Yeah," Stiles says with a rueful smile.

"Yikes," Derek says. "Make sure you have your phone in there in case something goes wrong." Stiles grabs his phone off the nightstand and unplugs it from the charger. Then Derek helps him to his feet (which seems painful enough on its own) and leads him slowly to the bathroom.

"Thanks," Stiles says. He hobbles into the room and shuts the door behind himself. Derek hears the lock engage. He heads out into the living room and bends down next to his father on the couch.

"Can you keep an ear out for Stiles?" he whispers. "He's in the bathroom. Said he might be a while." Samuel nods.

"No problem," he says.

"Thanks," Derek says. He straightens up and makes for the front door.

***

Talia is standing a few feet away from the door, arms crossed over her chest and eyes practically boring two holes into Derek's face the minute he steps out of the apartment.

"Hi, Mom," Derek says, closing the door to the apartment behind him and leaning against it. He crosses his own arms.

"You sure took your time," Talia says.

"You do know I have other stuff going on, right?" Derek asks. "Yesterday was insane and today we're just trying to settle back in. I can't just jump the second you want something. You should've called or texted or something before just showing up. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I can't come to visit my son?" Talia asks.

"Not after you haven't for months because you triggered his husband and refused to apologize for it," Derek says. "Among other things." Talia just rolls her eyes. Derek is about to say something else when the door behind him opens and he nearly falls backwards.

"What are you doing?" Laura asks, exiting the apartment. "The kid's pretty cute, Mom. You should go see him."

"She's not seeing him unless Stiles says so," Derek says, pulling the door closed again. "What are you doing out here?"

"Seriously, Derek?" Laura asks, giving him a look.

"Seriously, Laura," Derek says.

"It's probably better to not get too attached," Talia says. "Even if your father and Cora have already completely lost it over this baby."

"What?" Derek asks.

"Dad's completely gone on him," Laura says. "Almost like it's his actual grandchild."

"DJ _is_ his actual grandchild," Derek grinds out.

"DJ?" Talia asks.

"They actually named the baby after Derek, can you believe it?" Laura asks.

"Oh for god's sake," Talia says, kneading her forehead with her fingers. "Seriously, Derek? How are you supposed to get a divorce and go on with your life with a kid hanging around with your name? It's just one bad decision after another with you lately."

"Mom," Derek says evenly, struggling not to shout. "No matter how all this started, or what your feelings on it are, DJ is my son and Stiles is my husband. We've decided that divorce is off the table for us for now."

"You can _not_ be serious," Talia says.

"I am," Derek says. "And if you don't like it, that's your issue."

"Jesus Christ, Derek," Talia mutters. "I swear I raised you better than this. Have I not taught you about omegas who want to take advantage of alphas like this? I kept my mouth shut because he signed a pre-nup and there was supposed to be a divorce after the baby was born, and now you're telling me that you aren't divorcing him?"

"That's what I'm telling you," Derek says. "And that thing about omegas taking advantage of alphas this way is a disgusting stereotype and you know it."

"Well look what's happened here!" Talia exclaims, waving an arm.

"Oh no, Stiles is providing me with love and a family," Derek snarks. "What an asshole."

"Derek," Talia warns.

"Might as well drop it, Mom," Laura pipes up. "Derek's a bit of a soft one. They already have him changing diapers and bottle feeding, according to Dad."

"Is that not what you're supposed to do when you have a baby?" Derek asks. "It's not like they can do it themselves."

"Derek, you're an alpha," Laura says dryly. "Baby stuff is the omega's job."

"Did... did you not do this when Aaron was born?" Derek asks. "Do you not do it now?"

"No," Laura snorts. "What do you think I have Jordan for?" Derek stares at her in disbelief. Is this what Laura really thinks about omegas? About her own _husband_? Who is supposed to be her partner in life? Her _equal_? Derek turns to his mother.

"I didn't do a whole lot of childcare either when you all were small," Talia says with a shrug. "Most alphas don't. But I think we're getting a bit off-track here."

"Right," Derek says. "Well, um, I'll see you later then, I guess?"

"We're not finished here, Derek," Talia says.

"We really are," Derek says. "Stiles makes me happy, Mom. Being with him makes me happy. I don't know why you have such a huge problem with that."

"But you could do so much better," Talia says.

"How?" Derek asks. "Genuinely, how could I be doing better? I could certainly be doing a lot worse."

"Is he at least putting out?" Laura asks.

"Okay, no, get the fuck out," Derek snarls. "Both of you."

"Derek!" Talia exclaims.

"Out!" Derek shouts.

"Oh, lighten up, Derek," Laura says, rolling her eyes. But she at least starts walking away down the hall. It takes Talia another minute to get the message that Derek won't be putting up with any more of her shit, and she soon leaves too. As soon as they get into the elevator, Derek turns and goes back into his apartment.

Everyone in the living room looks up at him when he enters.

"Did you have a nice talk?" Cora asks him, an eyebrow arched.

"Shut up," Derek mutters.

***

When Stiles emerges from the bathroom, nearly an hour after he first went in, his face is blotchy and red, his eyes are puffy, and he's hobbling worse than before.

"How'd it go?" Derek asks, meeting him at the end of the hallway where it meets the living room.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Stiles says. Derek nods. He takes Stiles by the elbows and helps him into the living room. The couch is now free so Stiles is able to lie down on it. He sinks into the cushions on his side with a sigh and closes his eyes, only to open them again right away. "Where's DJ?"

"Right here," Natalie says, coming out of the kitchen with the baby in her arms. "He's due a feed."

"I'll do it," Stiles says. Natalie brings him the baby and a bottle of formula. She helps Stiles settle DJ on the cushion beside Stiles, his head propped up in the crook of Stiles' elbow. Stiles holds the bottle in his other hand and smiles serenely as he watches the baby eat. Derek watches the both of them and feels pure contentment. He doesn't understand how his mother could think that he'd ever want to give this up.

Out in the hall, Stiles' bedroom door opens and the sheriff shuffles out, yawning.

"I hope nothing exciting happened while I was asleep," he says.

"I just ordered pizza," Cora says, coming out of the kitchen. "Derek, you really need to get groceries."

"Bless you," the sheriff says. He walks through the room behind the couch, smiling down at Stiles and DJ, and goes over to Natalie to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll go tomorrow," Derek says.

"I need to be getting back to the house," Natalie says. "I'm meeting Lydia and Jackson for dinner later and need to get ready. I'm sure you'll all be alright here without me."

"We'll be fine," the sheriff says. "Between the bunch of us we'll make sure the kid doesn't escape."

"Oh, you," Natalie says. The sheriff grabs Natalie's purse from beside the armchair and walks her out of the apartment. DJ finishes his bottle and Stiles hands him off to Derek to be burped. Derek sits on the couch by Stiles' feet and places the baby over his shoulder and starts patting his back. Samuel emerges from the kitchen with some kind of cloth in his hand and approaches Stiles on the couch.

"Stiles, if you're interested, I have something that might help with your pain situation down below," he says.

"I will be taking any suggestions you have," Stiles says. "That first time going was truly horrific." Somewhere in the room, Isaac makes fake gagging noises. DJ burps loudly in Derek's ear and Derek is suitably impressed until he notices a wet sensation spreading down from his shoulder.

Now Isaac is laughing.

"Oh boy," Stiles says, covering a smile with his hand.

"Can someone pass me a cloth or something?" Derek asks. Cora grabs a burp cloth from the coffee table and tosses it at Derek's head. "Thanks." Someone knocks on the apartment door and Isaac opens it to let in the sheriff with several boxes of pizza.

"Met the delivery guy downstairs," he says. "Who's hungry?" Between Derek trying to clean up himself and the baby, Samuel and Stiles disappearing down the hall to test out Samuel's pain relief solution, and the sheriff sorting out the pizza and grabbing drinks, the apartment descends into a bit of casual chaos. It's the type of chaos that comes with many people in one place trying to do several things at once, which is a comforting sort of commotion that speaks of familiarity and camaraderie.

Derek much prefers this sort of chaos to the stressful and anger-inducing mess of the day before, and he's considering tonight a do-over.

***

***


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp... this suddenly took a dark turn, apparently I decided that I didn't make Theo evil enough
> 
> i also apologize for the bit of exposition dump i had to shove in there
> 
> cw for mentions of homicide, trafficking, and infant death (not DJ)

After a night of broken sleep where both Derek and Stiles got up several times with the baby, Stiles wakes up the next morning a different sort of tired. A better sort of tired. Broken sleep because of a baby feels like a more clean exhaustion than lack of sleep due to fear and panic.

Doesn't make it any less harder to get out of bed, but it comes without negative emotions.

And on another plus side, Stiles' milk has _finally_ come in, and he's able to successfully breastfeed for the first time. Sure, it happens at two in the morning, but Stiles is counting it as a victory.

"Went through the pain of having to grow the damn things, so they better put themselves to work," Stiles tells the baby in a sing-songy voice, stroking a finger over the baby's hand clutched against Stiles' breast. Lying in the bed next to where Stiles is sitting and feeding, Derek snorts.

"Oh, Jordan will be thrilled to finally hear that you've reached your full potential in motherhood," he says.

"I'm not gonna tell him," Stiles says. "I'll just say I only managed with the pump and that DJ will be completely bottle-fed. It'll drive him nuts." Derek laughs.

***

DJ is a fairly easy-going baby, which is probably a premature declaration since he's barely two days old, but Stiles is going with it. Or maybe it's just that all brand new babies are this easy at first. He's probably still recovering from the birth as much as Stiles is.

Speaking of recovering from the birth, Samuel's fancy ice-pack underwear are the most genius invention that Stiles has ever come across. They're basically just normal looking underwear with a pouch on the rear for a soft ice-pack insert. Pure magic, and especially useful after having to use the bathroom. He's actually kind of pissed that he's never heard of them before now. (Apparently they aren't even sold at Omega Basics, Samuel had had to order them from a specialty website. He'd done the same for Jordan years earlier, because Samuel is a goddamn saint, just like his son.) Stiles had raved about it the night before after trying them for the first time, and Isaac had looked about ready to throw him out a window.

Derek and the sheriff are insistent that Stiles stay off his feet as much as possible, so he spends the whole morning reclining on the couch with the baby in his arms and his chilled underwear on. He's freshly showered and in clean clothes and this is the best he's felt since before he went into labour.

And then the sheriff answers a knock at the door to let in one of his deputies, an alpha officer named Tara who's worked at the station for as long as Stiles can remember. Stiles instantly goes into panic mode at the sight of her.

Is she here to give information about Theo? Is she here to _ask_ for information about Theo?

Or is she here to take DJ away because Theo's somehow managed to find some kind of loophole that says he can claim the baby even though Derek is Stiles' legal husband and therefore already has a claim? Stiles has never come across any loophole like that in his research, but he still worries. He always worries.

"Officer Graeme," the sheriff says. "What brings you here?"

"I have some information about the attempted kidnapping case I think you should all hear," Tara says. "And I'd like to get some more information from Stiles if he's up to it. I understand he's just had a baby." That last bit is said with an amused look at the sheriff, which tells Stiles that the sheriff has probably announced his new role as grandfather to his deputies at some point. Several times and with high excitement, Stiles is sure.

He'd laugh at the mental image, but he can't with the panic and fear still coursing through him.

The sheriff turns to Stiles with a questioning look. Derek emerges from the kitchen and comes to stand behind the couch. Stiles glances at both of them and then at Tara. He has to admit that he is curious under all the fear.

"Theo... He's not going to get the baby, is he?" Stiles asks.

"No," Tara says. She moves into the apartment proper and stands next to the TV until the sheriff indicates that she can sit in the armchair. She does, pulling out a notebook and pen from inside her pants pocket. "Your husband is registered as the baby's sire and alpha."

"Right," Stiles says. And then doesn't say anything else about it. He doesn't want to admit to anything that could possibly interfere with Derek's claim. Even acknowledging that Derek isn't DJ's biological alpha parent in front of an officer of the law (who isn't Stiles' father) could probably be enough to launch an investigation in it for all Stiles knows. He doesn't want to take that chance.

"You both got married, what was it, six or seven months ago?" Tara asks.

"About that, yeah," Stiles says, heart in his throat. "We got married once I told Derek I was pregnant."

"And Theo didn't know?" Tara asks.

"Neither of us were in contact with him then," Stiles says.

"Right," Tara says. "We did have both your phone records pulled, and it's clear that neither of you had contact with Theo Raeken by phone. Although, Stiles, we also pulled your records for your previous phone. And those show regular calls and texts with Mr Raeken."

"I don't have that phone anymore," Stiles says, heart pounding. "I left it behind when I left Alabama." He must accidentally clutch at the baby too tightly, because DJ suddenly squawks angrily.

"Shit," Stiles says. He quickly hands the baby off to Derek. Then he turns back to Tara. "I swear I don't have that phone anymore. My dad got me a new one as soon as I got back to Beacon Hills."

"Mr Raeken didn't have the phone on him when he was arrested. Neither did his wife or Mr McCall," Tara says. "We're still waiting on more data to come in from the phone's service provider and several different cell towers. If you're telling the truth about leaving the phone in Alabama, then we'll know soon enough."

"Right," Stiles says. He's an idiot, he should've smashed that phone to bits before he left. But he'd been in such a hurry, and at the time it had been his only contact with Cora since Theo had already destroyed his laptop.

"Moving on from that for now," Tara says. "Do you recognize this person?" She pulls a photo out of the inside pocket of her uniform jacket and hands it over to Stiles, having to rise up from the chair somewhat to reach because Stiles isn't too inclined to lean over.

Stiles studies the picture. He recognizes the person in the photo: a young man around his age with strawberry blond hair and freckles all over his face. He's a bit on the chubbier side, and his smile is wide and blinding as he looks at whoever is taking his photo.

"His name is Henry," Stiles says. "I never knew his last name. He was the omega partner of a friend of Theo's in Alabama. But I think they ended up breaking up or something because I didn't see him for, like, months before I left."

"Henry Kepler," Tara says. "Did you know that he had a baby a few weeks ago?" Stiles shakes his head. He hadn't known that Henry was ever pregnant. Theo certainly hadn't mentioned anything to him. But then apparently there were a lot of things that Theo never mentioned to him. "Can you remember when exactly was the last time you saw Henry?"

"Did something happen to him?" Stiles asks.

"I'll need dates if you think you can provide them," Tara says. Stiles' heart lurches and his whole body flushes hot and then cold. That is not a good sign.

"I don't remember any exact dates," he says, voice trembling. "But he didn't look pregnant the last time I saw him." Tara writes something on her notepad. "What happened to him?"

"His remains were found in a deserted field not too far from the town you were living in in Alabama," Tara says. Stiles chokes on his next breath. "The remains of what was eventually determined to be his newborn infant were discovered nearby."

"Jesus Christ," the sheriff mutters. "That's brutal, but why bring it up? Do you think Theo's involved?" Tara taps her pen idly against her notepad and runs a finger over her lips for a second.

"This is still very early stages in this investigation," she says, slowly. "So I can't say that I have all the answers, all I know is what I've been told by the officers actually working the case. But I can tell you what we know so far. Mr Kepler's death, and the death of his newborn, is being investigated as a homicide and is currently in the hands of the police in Alabama. And the only reason we are even asking you about it is because there are some very strong similarities in the circumstances of his case and yours."

"Are you saying that Theo killed someone?" Stiles asks in a whisper. He's shaking all over. Derek is suddenly on the couch with him, slotting in behind Stiles and letting him rest back against his chest, next to where DJ is settled comfortably in Derek's other arm.

"There's no evidence of that at this time," Tara says. "The popular theory at the moment is that Mr Kepler was killed by his alpha partner. Which would be a friend of Mr Raeken's. Wesley Williams."

"What are the strong similarities?" the sheriff asks.

"Alabama police have found some deleted files and emails on Mr Williams' computer," Tara says. She shifts in her seat. "There were messages between Mr Williams and Mr Kepler, normal emails and email notifications for forum posts, discussing the arrangements of Mr Kepler carrying a baby for Mr Williams and his alpha husband."

"S- surrogacy," Stiles whispers. His breathing goes shallow and his mind races. Dots are connecting for him, and he isn't liking any of the conclusions he's coming to.

"Yes," Tara says. "The forum posts were near identical to the ones found on Mr Raeken's computer that he says were between him and Stiles. Our IT department found the forum, it is real and legitimate, but the usernames said to belong to Stiles, Mr Raeken, Mr Kepler, and Mr Williams do not exist anywhere on it."

"So, what you're saying..." the sheriff says, rubbing at his temples.

"What we're saying is that there is a convoluted plot happening," Tara says. "This was all done very crudely and amateurishly, which is why we were able to find all of this so easily. It's still early days, and Stiles and Mr Kepler are the only 'surrogates' we've discovered so far, but we think that this whole thing was an attempt to start an underground baby trafficking ring for alpha-alpha couples."

"What!?" The sheriff exclaims.

"Furthermore," Tara says, and Stiles dreads what will come next because he's sure it's just more awfulness. "After looking through more of Mr Raeken and Mr Williams' personal computer files, we have reason to believe that they were also attempting to start an alphas-only commune in the area they were living in."

"You mean like the Prime Collective?" The sheriff asks, an expression of horror slowly taking over his face.

"Exactly like that," Tara says. "Except if the Prime Collective had even less money and were led by common criminals instead of highly organized criminal masterminds who actually knew what they were doing."

"Henry's baby," Stiles asks. "It was an omega, wasn't it?"

"... Yes," Tara answers reluctantly.

Stiles immediately throws up.

***

LGBT rights are only slightly further advanced than omega rights. Same-gendered couples are currently allowed to get married, own property together, keep their jobs after coming out, and raise children. Different secondary genders face different levels of discrimination, of course, but some strides have been made.

The most common same-gendered pairing is beta-beta, the gender that society commonly overlooks. Omega-omega pairings are fairly rare because, due to the abysmal state of omega rights, they can barely get by in modern society without an alpha unless they mostly live off the grid (and even then they'd have to live in a place where omegas could legally own properties to live off of in the first place). Alpha-alpha pairings are less rare than beta-beta pairings, but still nowhere near as common.

Stiles learned about the Prime Collective when he was in high school. Not as part of the curriculum, of course, but one night he'd stumbled across it after falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole during a research binge.

Prime Collective was originally started as an organization for alpha-alpha couples looking to start families. Originally, their purpose was to share resources for things like adoption and surrogacy, since alpha-alpha couples couldn't have biological children together. They even, at one point, offered to cover costs for the expensive processes of adoption and surrogacy, which made it easier for a lot of couples who weren't insanely rich to start families.

At some point, no one who's researched can quite pinpoint when even years later, the organization changed their objective and started becoming less about helping alpha-alpha couples achieve their dreams of parenthood and more about trying to create communities comprised solely of alphas. They slowly stopped working with official surrogacy and adoption agencies, especially those owned and run by betas, and it became harder for outsiders to determine just where they were now acquiring all their children.

The reason Prime Collective was able to get away with so much for so long was because it eventually turned into an organization that catered exclusively to alpha extremists, who had a vested interest in keeping the organization out of trouble and under the radar of watch groups and regulatory agencies. Other organizations cropped up over time that facilitated adoptions and surrogacy arrangements for genuine alpha-alpha couples looking to start families. Prime Collective's clients soon became 'fake' alpha-alpha couples, who only married because of their vision for an alpha-only society, not because they were genuinely attracted to other alphas. It took a while for society at large to catch on. And it took even longer to realize that all the couples working with Prime Collective only ended up with alpha children. Every. Single. One.

Prime Collective's eventual downfall came with the sudden uprising in omega rights activists and beta and alpha supporters, spurred on by families searching for missing omegas. These families and activists fought hard for police departments across the country to reopen cold missing persons files and to actually do their jobs and search for their missing loved ones, whose cases often went cold because of lack of interest. And if any of those missing omegas turned out to be anything less than a perfect upstanding individual, they sometimes didn't even have a case file because there was no investigation.

Eventually, through sheer hard work and determination, a lot of those missing omega cases were linked to the Prime Collective, and DNA testing the children born or adopted out to Prime Collective members went a long way to answering some tough questions. Then it became a huge scandal about a national organization running a trafficking ring and arrests were made.

Some omegas were found alive and in most cases were able to be reunited with their families and sometimes even the children they'd borne.

And then mass graves were found, and the full scope of the whole operation took on a more sinister and devastating light. But it also closed a few missing persons cases, some that had even been cold for years. It also answered the question of why Prime Collective members seemed to produce only alpha children.

When Stiles first discovered all this, he'd been outraged at how little about the whole affair was public knowledge. The theory was that some of the more prestigious members of the organization used their clout and high-powered connections to keep much information from getting out.

He'd never even considered the thought that one day he'd fall victim to a bargain bin version of the same scheme.

***

Even sitting in a warm bath, steam slowly filling the bathroom, Stiles can't get warm. He huddles up in the water, even though it hurts, and shivers and shakes.

Sitting on the floor next to the tub, Derek stares off into space.

They're both quiet.

Tara is gone, she'd left after Stiles' unexpected reaction to her findings, promising to be in touch when she knew more. Stiles isn't sure he wants to know anything more that she finds out, but a small part of him wants to know _everything_.

"Theo would've killed DJ," Stiles says suddenly through chattering teeth. "If he knew about him being an omega."

"Yeah," Derek says roughly.

"They killed Henry's baby because of that," Stiles continues. "And then they killed Henry when he tried to stop it from happening." Stiles never knew Henry well, mostly just as Theo's friend's boyfriend, but they'd gotten along well enough. But he'd known him enough to know that he wouldn't have let anyone hurt his baby without putting up a fight. Just like Stiles would with DJ. Henry and his baby could've easily been Stiles and DJ had Stiles not been able to escape. That thought will be giving Stiles nightmares forever, he's sure.

He had no idea that Theo's friend had been married to another alpha. Wesley Williams' alpha husband had been as much of an unknown as Theo's wife. Do all of Theo's alpha friends have secret alpha spouses and trapped omega partners? And if so, where are the omegas? Are there any more babies? None of Theo's friends had children as far as Stiles could tell back in Alabama. Does that mean that there aren't any? Or that there aren't any _anymore_?

"Derek," Stiles says, slapping a trembling arm against Derek's shoulder. "Derek, I have to talk to the police again."

"What?" Derek asks, shaking himself out of his stupor.

"I have to give them names," Stiles says. He starts struggling to get to his feet and out of the tub and Derek rushes to help him. "If there are other omegas stuck with Theo's friends, I need to help them."

"Do you think there could be more?" Derek asks. He wraps Stiles in a large fluffy towel and starts helping him to dry off. It does nothing to make Stiles feel less cold inside, but he appreciates the effort.

"I don't know," Stiles says. "But I didn't know about what happened to Henry after he disappeared. I just assumed he left. What if there are more, though? Others who can't get away like I did? Others who don't have people like Cora in their lives to come rescue them? I have to do what I can now that I know."

He's determined. He doesn't know if he'll be of any help, but he knows he has to try.

Theo will not win this one.

***

***


	33. Chapter 33

Stiles talks to the police over the phone, not wanting to leave the apartment at all, even to go to the station, and rattles off as many names of Theo's friends as he can remember. He has one hand clenched around one of Derek's and he's shaking the whole time, but he does it.

Derek is so proud of him.

When he's done, he cuddles with the baby in the bedroom and doesn't talk to anyone for the rest of the day.

It takes about a week for either of them to hear anything back from the police. In that time, Derek watches Stiles jump every time someone knocks on the door, wake himself up with nightmares, and basically never let the baby out of his sight.

He's completely stressed out and Derek has no idea what to do to help. The sheriff is still staying at the apartment, and Natalie and Samuel drop by often, so there's no shortage of help with either housework or taking care of DJ, but Stiles is still running himself into the ground just by worrying about 'what ifs' constantly.

Finally, the sheriff gets a call from one of the deputies saying that Ainsley and Theo have been extradited back to Alabama and are in prison there. Also that the FBI is now involved and may need to speak to Stiles in the future. Apparently, his list of Theo's friends produced a few leads and really expanded the scope of the investigation.

When Stiles hears this he bursts into tears and sobs into Derek's chest until he exhausts himself and falls asleep.

It's the first time he sleeps through the night.

***

"Hey, did you all know that Peter is in _Alabama_ right now?" Cora asks, bursting into the apartment. Derek, Stiles, and the sheriff, who are all sitting in the living room trying to engage DJ's interest with a rattle, all stare at her with their mouths open.

From the kitchen comes a weary "Why, Peter, for heaven sakes?" from Samuel, who is taking inventory of the kitchen supplies and probably judging Derek very hard over it.

"He's not in jail in Alabama, is he?" Stiles asks.

"Surprisingly, no," Cora says. "Can I hold Baby Derek?"

"Wash your hands first," Stiles and Derek tell her in unison. Cora rolls her eyes but goes to do as she's told. The sheriff shares a look with Stiles and Derek.

"Peter doesn't secretly work for law enforcement anywhere, does he?" He asks.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't," Derek says. "He just likes to meddle."

"Okay, baby time for Auntie Cora," Cora says, coming back in. "Let me at him." Cora drops on the couch in the empty space next to Derek, and Stiles, sitting on Derek's other side, passes the baby to her. Derek watches his sister, amused, as she makes faces at the baby. DJ doesn't react other than to go slightly cross-eyed.

"So what's Peter doing in Alabama?" Stiles asks.

"He's out there causing shit," Cora says. "Apparently he's gathering omega rights activists to prepare for some massive demonstrations since the local police are starting to drag their heels a bit on the whole underground baby ring thing." Stiles gives her a long blink and then looks away with a shake of his head. The sheriff squints at Cora, who just shrugs.

"I don't even know what to do with that," Stiles says.

"Let's just say that he's using his evil powers for good," Cora says. "Isn't that right, DJ? Great-Uncle Peter is gonna stir up some shit, isn't he? I still can't believe you named him after Derek." She turns to Derek. "Didn't you keep saying you didn't want him named after you?"

"Stiles made a convincing argument," he says. "By the way, he's named after you too, you know."

"Uh, no," Cora says. "What part of 'Derek' gets you anything that sounds like 'Cora'?"

"His middle name is Corey," Stiles says. Cora turns a wide-eyed look on him, then on Derek, then back to Stiles.

"But... why?" She asks. Stiles shrugs.

"You and Derek saved my life," he says. "Saved _his_ life. Figured it was the least I could do." Cora looks down at DJ, who's waving his hands around jerkily. She makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a sniffle.

"Well shit," she says. "I don't know what to say to that." Someone suddenly starts knocking on the apartment door. "Saved by the bell." The sheriff gets up from the armchair and walks over to look through the peephole. Then he swears. Next to Derek, Stiles immediately stiffens. Derek tenses.

"It's Melissa," the sheriff says, looking over his shoulder at the group on the couch. Melissa knocks on the door again, a series of rapid taps. Stiles and Cora share a look and immediately get up from the couch. Stiles, walking a bit easier this week, follows Cora out of the room and down the hall. Derek hears a door close, he assumes the bedroom door. Then he gets up from the couch and joins the sheriff at the door.

"John!" Melissa knocks again. Derek and the sheriff share a look.

"Do I let her in?" The sheriff asks.

"We can go out," Derek says. "I kinda want to hear what she has to say, but I don't want her coming inside." The sheriff grunts in what sounds like agreement. He engages the chain lock (newly replaced by the sheriff as an apology for breaking the old one) and opens the door. Melissa's face appears in the gap, skin pale and eyes wet and puffy. She looks like she hasn't slept in a week.

"John..." she says.

"We'll talk in the hall," the sheriff says. Melissa nods miserably and backs away from the door to make room for Derek and the sheriff to join her. Derek closes the door behind them and stands next to the sheriff. Melissa regards the two of them.

"John, I need your help," she says.

"Oh?" The sheriff asks.

"They've charged Scott with being part of that—that—whole surrogacy trafficking... _thing_ ," she says, gesturing wildly with one hand. "You know he wasn't involved. You have to talk to them." Derek blinks in surprise. _Has_ Scott been part of Theo's plot? From the very beginning? For Stiles' sake, he hopes not.

"If they charged him, it means they had evidence," the sheriff says. "And, besides, you know I'm not working on this case. Even if I am the sheriff, there isn't much I can do with that. Especially now that the FBI is involved."

"John, you know he had nothing to do with this," Melissa insists.

"Actually, I don't know," the sheriff says. "See, what I _do_ know is that Scott, instead of helping his _best friend_ get to safety, returned him to his abusive alpha based on the word of that alpha. And I also know that he's been in near constant contact with that same alpha, continuing to put his _best friend_ \- _my son_ - and that friend's unborn child in massive danger. Without any other motive, aside from maybe that Scott is easily manipulated and as dumb as a box of rocks, all I can assume is that he was working with Theo as part of this little plot and only viewed Stiles as an incubator for Theo's own use."

"It wasn't like that," Melissa says. "He was just trying to help out a friend. Both Theo and Derek. He thought he was doing the right thing."

"How the hell was he helping me out?" Derek snaps. "Because I certainly don't remember asking him for any help."

"He thought that Stiles was trying to trap you," Melissa says. "Stiles was trying to pass Theo's baby off as yours, so that you would marry him and he could be well provided for and live the easy life."

"Yes, because that sure sounds like Stiles," the sheriff says sarcastically. "He's definitely the type of omega who'd pull that kind of stunt. Never mind that the reason he left town in the first place was so that he could get an education and build a life for himself with his own two hands without the need for an alpha to take care of his every need. Remember that? Remember how I kept complaining that all I wanted was for him to settle down with an alpha and start a family and become a stay-at-home omega like he was 'supposed' to do? And remember how you kept telling me that Stiles wouldn't be happy with that sort of life because he was too independent for that? Remember that?"

"People change, John," Melissa says. "He was gone for five years."

"Yeah, people change," the sheriff says. "And Stiles did change. He became someone who is constantly terrified and desperate. He came back _traumatized_ because of what Theo put him through. And he continues to be traumatized every time your son puts his literal life in danger by constantly reporting his business to Theo. Do you even remember what I told you in the ER while Stiles was being admitted?" Derek blinks at the sheriff in surprise. He didn't know that Melissa had been there and seen them. Although, he should've figured that might have been a possibility since she worked in the place.

"I don't--"

" _I told you_ to not mention _anything_ to Scott," the sheriff says, almost snarling. "I told you that we couldn't trust him after everything else that had happened. I told you that it was imperative for the safety of Stiles and the baby that Scott didn't know what was happening so he couldn't go running to Theo. And what did you say to me?"

"... Yes, John," Melissa whispers, looking down.

"Exactly," the sheriff says. "And then what did you do? You turned right around and told him."

"But I didn't!" Melissa exclaims.

"Well you told him something because Scott and Theo showed up later that day intending to take the baby," the sheriff says. "How did they find out, Melissa?" Melissa puts her face in her hands. Derek looks away, staring hard at the hallway carpeting. "How did they find out?"

"I... I just mentioned that I'd seen Stiles that day," Melissa says. "I didn't even say where, or that he was in labour, just that I saw him."

"So when I said 'don't tell Scott anything', that meant nothing to you?" the sheriff asks.

"I didn't think he'd tell Theo," Melissa says. "Or even that he was talking to Theo at all!"

"And what would you have lost by just not telling him about Stiles at all?" The sheriff asks. "Even if Scott wasn't constantly going to Theo with updates, after what happened at the hotel why would you even think that Stiles would want Scott knowing his business at all?"

"Look," Melissa says, an edge in her voice. Derek looks back to her cheeks damp with tears and her jaw set. "I know Scott's heart was in the right place. All he knew was that his friend was being denied the right to his own child. He was doing everything he could to help. I can't fault him for that."

"I can," the sheriff says. "Because when he returned Stiles to Theo at the hotel? Stiles wasn't pregnant then. He was, however, freshly out of the hospital for injuries that Theo inflicted on him. So, I will fault Scott for everything he's done since then, and I won't help him out with this mess that he's put himself in because I don't care, Melissa. I don't care about what he's going through now because my priority is Stiles and the baby and if this is what it takes to keep them safe from Scott, then so be it."

"But..." Melissa says.

"If Scott had succeeded in getting Stiles back to Theo at any point," Derek says. Melissa and the sheriff both startle a bit, like they'd forgotten about him. "Theo would've killed Stiles and the baby. Whether or not Scott knew that it would go that far, he'd still be responsible."

"No..." Melissa gasps.

"Melissa, your son has let down my son at every turn," the sheriff says tiredly. "Frankly, just doing nothing would've been better than what he has been doing. If it turns out that he hasn't been in on Theo's whole plot, then that'll eventually come out and the charges will be dropped or changed. I'm not inclined to pull any strings for him because his actions could have cost me my son and grandson. And Derek his husband and son. So, no, I won't be talking to anyone. And I think it's best that you and I don't talk anymore, either."

"Wait!" Melissa protests.

"Goodbye, Melissa," the sheriff says. He turns and gestures to Derek to go back into the apartment. Melissa starts to say something else, but the sheriff closes the door in her face and then locks it. Samuel is standing in the kitchen doorway, watching them, when they enter.

"I hope that was at least somewhat productive," he says.

"Apparently Scott's been charged as part of the trafficking ring," the sheriff says, dropping down in the armchair.

"Wow," Samuel says. "Do you think the charges will stick?"

"Honestly? Probably not," the sheriff says. "If Scott's only involvement was that Theo was using him to get to Stiles, then that's what the evidence will show and Scott will probably end up with reduced charges. Either way, I'm washing my hands of it. Stiles is my priority, not Scott." Derek leaves the two of them to their conversation and heads off in the direction of the bedroom. He knocks on the closed door.

"Come in, we're decent," Cora calls out. Derek rolls his eyes and pushes the door open. He finds DJ napping in the old wooden cradle next to the bed, with Stiles and Cora sitting in the middle of the bed with Stiles' laptop. Stiles looks up when Derek walks in. He smiles, Derek smiles back.

"Cora thinks she can get me another client," Stiles says. Derek runs a hand over DJ's soft head as he passes by the cradle to flop down on the bed next to Stiles. He props his head on one of Stiles' thighs and looks at the laptop screen.

"Anyone famous?" He asks.

"Moderately famous in the online webcomic community," Cora says smugly. "He put out a request for some assistants and I think that Stiles has the skills for it."

"I wouldn't go that far," Stiles says, blushing faintly. "Not to mention that DJ will be taking up most of my time soon. Dad and Derek will have to go back to work and I'm sure your dad has better things to do than hang around here all the time."

"Hey, if it's what you want to do, I'm sure we can figure something out," Derek says. Stiles smiles down at him and runs a hand through Derek's hair.

"Thanks, but I would rather focus more on DJ right now," he says. "Call it parental leave. I'll think about taking on more clients once he's older. The two I have are enough for right now."

"You should think about starting an actual business or something," Cora says. "Some freelance stuff."

"Maybe," Stiles says.

"Think about it, though," Cora says. "An omega-run editing service for webcomics. It's probably just gimmicky enough to make some sort of impact." Stiles tilts his head, considering.

"You might have a point," he says. "I'll think about it."

"I'd say you start making a business plan now," Cora says. "Just for the look on Jordan's face when he finds out about it."

"Yes," Stiles says. Derek huffs out a laugh. The chorus to _The Macarena_ suddenly blares from Cora's pants pocket and she pulls out her phone with a swear. Stiles lets out a loud laugh and DJ lets out a sharp cry.

"Shit, sorry," Cora says. She answers the call. "Har har, you got me." Derek rolls off the bed to tend to the baby, who instantly stops fussing once he's in Derek's arms. Derek's heart melts. He looks over to the bed to see Stiles watching him, a smile on his face. Derek smiles back.

"Welp," Cora says loudly, ending her phone call. "I have to go get Isaac back for that. I'll see you two weirdos later. Remember Stiles: business plan."

"Yeah, yeah," Stiles says. "Tell Isaac I said 'fuck you' for waking the baby." Cora cackles as she leaves the room. Derek shakes his head in amusement, climbing back onto the bed with DJ and settling down next to Stiles. Stiles closes the laptop and leans into Derek's side, reaching out with a hand to play with DJ's tiny fingers.

"What did Melissa want?" Stiles asks.

"Scott got charged with being part of Theo's Prime Collective Lite plan," Derek says. "She wanted your dad to try to, I dunno, talk the charges down or something? Or get them dropped all together." Stiles frowns up at Derek. "Your father really let her have it though."

"I didn't give his name to the police, though," Stiles says.

"Your dad thinks that all they have on him is Theo using him to get to you," Derek says. "Not to mention he showed up at the hospital with him when DJ was born."

"He's the one who told Theo I was in the hospital," Stiles says. It's not a question. "Who told Scott, though?"

"Melissa," Derek says.

"How..." Stiles stiffens. "Shit, right. She was there in the ER when I was admitted. I completely forgot about that."

"Understandable, you were pretty busy at the time," Derek says. "I didn't see her at all. I guess your dad saw her and told her not to say anything to Scott, but she let it slip that she'd seen you and I guess Scott put the pieces together."

"Ugh," Stiles says, letting his head drop. "Well, at least he can't hurt me from jail. Him or Theo."

"You're not wrong there," Derek says.

***

A few days after the visit from Melissa, now that Theo is in prison in Alabama and all his cronies are being rounded up, the sheriff decides that it's time he returned home.

"So you both you can call anytime with issues," he says, halfway out the door. He's clearly reluctant to leave, and Stiles is sad to see him go. Derek too, honestly, but it's been long enough and they should at least start to get things back to normal. Their new normal.

"We will," Stiles says. "And It's not like you can't visit."

"That's true," the sheriff says. "Anyway, I need to be off." But even so, it still takes him another couple of minutes and another cuddle with DJ before he finally leaves. And then it's just Stiles and Derek alone in the apartment. With the baby. For the first time.

The two of them share a brief panicked look.

"We got this," Stiles says. "Right?"

"Of course," Derek says. "I think between the two of us we can handle one little baby. Besides, it's not like we were just sitting on our asses while everyone else did the work the past couple of weeks. We know what we're doing."

"That's true," Stiles says. He looks down at DJ in his arms; the baby is soundly asleep. Derek can't wait for the days when he'll start being awake more, and able to interact more with the people around him.

"I think we can get away with maybe watching a movie before his next feed," Derek says.

"I think I'll take you up on that," Stiles says.

***

***


	34. Chapter 34

Stiles waits for the full scope of parenting, running a house, and working to overwhelm him, but so far it hasn't happened.

He and Derek, who is still currently off work on official parental leave, work as a team to take care of DJ and keep the apartment from falling apart.

Sure, neither of them have had a good night's sleep since the sheriff left, but Stiles figures that's all par for the course. Honestly, he's pretty sure neither he nor Derek mind much getting up with the baby since neither of them really need to be anywhere in the mornings.

Sleeping in for the win.

***

When DJ is about two months old, Theo's Prime Collective lite/surrogacy scam/baby trafficking ring thing makes nation-wide headlines, and then international headlines.

Stiles and Derek watch some of the news coverage of the ongoing investigation (though Stiles can't handle much of it), and also come across several articles online (along with a lot of memes). Stiles is never mentioned by name, but he does have connections to both Theo and Scott, and he does live in a small town, so he ends up with some unwanted attention anyway.

The first time a reporter shows up at the apartment is unwelcome, but ultimately fine. Stiles is able to deliver a short statement – he is fine, yes he's had a baby, the baby is fine, his husband is the baby's alpha, he has cut all ties with Theo and Scott, he is not interested in giving any interviews – and send the reporter off on her way.

Quick, painless, and Derek sends out a mass text to everyone on his contact list to not talk to the media about Stiles other than to say he is fine.

The reporters and other media people who come afterwards are met with much less understanding. At first Derek just sends them away sternly, but they soon become more and more insistent and start shouting more invasive questions through the closed front door. Stiles soon takes to holing up in the bedroom with the baby while Derek threatens the more insistent reporters with the police to get them to back off.

Getting woken up in the middle of the night by loud insistent banging on the door is the final straw and then the police are called. Stiles watches through the peephole as his father arrests a few people with microphones and cameras, and hopes that this'll be the end of it.

"What the hell were they even expecting to happen at this hour?" Derek grumbles, texting someone on his phone.

"An exclusive, I'm sure," Stiles says.

"I'll exclusive them," Derek mutters, which makes no sense, but whatever. Stiles grunts an agreement and then lets his father in once the reporters have been shut up in his cruiser for the time being.

"You boys alright?" The sheriff asks.

"Yeah," Stiles sighs. "Now this is just getting annoying."

"Yeah," the sheriff says. "I'll go book these fools and hopefully that'll send some kind of message. Hopefully it'll all blow over soon enough."

"Hopefully," Stiles says. The sheriff leaves and Stiles closes the door and rests his head on it. "What time is it?"

"Time for sleep," Derek says with a yawn. Stiles yawns, then stretches. There's a fullness in his chest that usually means that a feeding will soon be happening. Sure enough, DJ wakes up with a hungry cry as Stiles and Derek are climbing back into bed.

"I got him," Stiles says. Derek turns on the bedside lamp as Stiles picks DJ up out of the cradle next to the bed. He puts his nose to DJ's head and inhales his sweet baby smell as he climbs back into bed and gets comfortable on his side, laying the baby on the mattress between him and Derek.

Breastfeeding while lying down: the only one of Jordan's suggestions that Stiles has actually bothered entertaining.

As DJ eats, Stiles plays with the tuft of blond hair on top of his head. He still hasn't grown in any other hair yet, and Stiles wonders if it'll grow in dark. He's starting to worry now what'll happen if the baby starts to look more like Theo as he ages (right now he actually more resembles the old pictures of Stiles' mother, who died in a car accident when Stiles was two, only blond). He can't imagine ever loving his son any less, but still he worries.

Derek's hand slides over the sheets and catches DJ's flailing hand. DJ's tiny fingers grip at one of Derek's fingers, just like on the day he was born, and hold on. Stiles looks at Derek's face to find the same soppy expression he always gets when this happens.

There's no question that Derek loves DJ just as much as Stiles does. It's becoming more obvious day by day that Derek doesn't regret agreeing to marry Stiles at all. As far as Stiles can tell, Derek is happy in their home with their son. Stiles is also pretty sure that Derek is happy with him. Physically, their relationship hasn't made many strides; though they don't shy away from touch none of it is sexual, but emotionally Stiles is pretty sure he, at least, has never felt more fulfilled.

DJ finishes nursing and Derek picks him up to burp him while Stiles cleans himself up. Once burped, DJ doesn't seem particularly interested in sleeping (of course), so all three of them hang out in the bed for a while. Derek lays the baby on his raised thighs and makes faces at him, Stiles leans into his side and provides commentary.

Stiles wouldn't have chosen to have children this young on his own. When he left Beacon Hills at 18, he wanted a career first, kids later. He'd never wanted to be a stay-at-home omega like his father and society wanted him to be. He wanted a life and identity beyond motherhood. He wanted to be Stiles first, omega second.

Even so, he's happy with the way things have turned out. He's not happy with the things that had to happen to get him here, but he's happy now. He doesn't regret DJ. Can't bring himself to, really. He doesn't regret Derek, or the life they're starting to build together.

And even luckier for him, proving that this whole situation is best case scenario, he still gets to be Stiles first. He's still DJ's parent (he and Derek still haven't decided what DJ will call them), but he's also Derek's husband and friend, and a webcomic editor with the potential to maybe even start a proper business one day.

He's pretty sure that, despite everything, he's come out on top in this whole situation.

***

Some of Theo's friends start taking plea deals.

As the sheriff expected, Scott's charges do get reduced. The investigators determine that his only involvement in the whole mess is just him feeding info about Stiles to Theo, and that he had no knowledge about anything having to do with the surrogacy plot. He still ends up taking a plea deal and is sentenced to a year in a California prison with a few years of probation upon his release. He also won't be allowed to live in Beacon Hills after his release.

The sheriff hasn't spoken to Melissa since the day she showed up at the apartment.

The FBI discover a few omegas in the early stages of being taken in by Theo's group to be future 'surrogates'. All recent transplants to Alabama that have just moved to the state to be with their alpha partners, not knowing that those partners are already either married or engaged to other alphas and are only planning to use those omegas to provide children, whether they want to or not. They also find an omega, already heavily pregnant, literally chained up in one of the alpha couples' basement. She's freed and soon relocated out of state to an omega refuge organization for her own safety and protection.

Stiles doesn't sleep for maybe a week after that, acutely aware that that was so close to being him, once upon a time.

Probably the most disturbing discovery is that one of the alpha-alpha couples actually have a baby. A tiny alpha infant, not much older than DJ, who it's determined was sired by one half of the couple, but whose omega parent cannot be found. And the couple isn't talking.

It's one horrible discovery after another, but talking heads in the media keep saying that it could've been so much worse.

"If not for that one omega who got away," one of them says, on one of the rare times that Stiles can bring himself to watch the coverage, "who knows how long this could've gone on for? I can't see this little scheme reaching Prime Collective levels, but it could've been a lot worse than it is."

One good thing to come from all this is that it brings the Prime Collective debacle back to public attention, giving omega rights activists a cause to rally around in their ever ongoing fight for reform. It also gets LGBT rights activists involved, making sure that the public knows that this plot was the product of alpha supremacists, and not actual alphas who love other alphas.

Peter is still in Alabama, and he's soon joined by Cora and Isaac, who throw themselves into activism. Cora uses her TikTok account, the very same one that put her back in Stiles' orbit in the first place, to fire back against ignorant opinions on the news and the internet. She also, with Stiles' complete approval, shares bits of what Stiles had gone through in her videos, putting a more personal spin on the whole thing and prompting a wave of videos from other omegas who were nearly caught up in the scheme, which then prompts an explosion of videos from omegas who have been in abusive relationships with alphas in general.

Stiles watches all this happen from the safety of the apartment, wishing he could be there in person and contribute to the cause, but he's still too afraid to put himself out there. Still afraid of the danger of Theo, even if he is behind bars with no access to him or DJ.

He does manage to find a different outlet through webcomics. The art is a bit crude (Stiles was never much one for drawing), but each little strip features a snapshot into Stiles' experiences over the course of the past five years. At first he just scribbles them out and leaves them on his laptop, but Derek eventually encourages him to post them online, and it gives Stiles a way to get his story out on his own terms without having to actually put himself out there.

Then of course those webcomics get discovered and they take off.

This whole situation is quite surreal, and Stiles isn't quite sure how to really deal with it.

***

Watching DJ grow in real time is fascinating, and he makes a perfect distraction from all the turmoil in Stiles' life. Stiles is still hesitant to take him out of the apartment, because _what if_ , but he doesn't want to start his son's life off in complete fear, and he doesn't want his son to think this kind of behaviour is normal, so he starts forcing himself out of his comfort zones.

Always with Derek, of course.

They start out with short visits to the sheriff at his home, and Samuel at his (when Talia is out, of course). They even make a stop at the library so Stiles can meet Derek's co-workers, and Stiles lasts about five minutes with Yael before he needs to get out.

It's only when Stiles starts taking DJ out on daily walks with Derek that he realizes that Christmas is almost on them. Between everything going on, and staying inside all the time, he had somehow managed to forget all about the holiday, or the passage of time in general, until he sees Christmas decorations going up all over town.

"Holy shit," he says on one of the walks, staring at a giant snowman painted on a nearby coffee shop's picture window.

"Hm?" Derek asks.

"Would you believe that I forgot that time is actually passing out here?" Stiles asks.

"Hey," Derek says with a shrug. "You've been busy."

"You were gonna let me miss our son's first Christmas?" Stiles asks.

"Oh no, definitely not," Derek says. "But this way it won't be a huge surprise for you on Christmas morning." Stiles elbows him in the side and Derek laughs. Someone sitting in the coffee shop seems to be watching them a bit too intently, or maybe that's just in Stiles' head, either way he starts walking away with the stroller, back to the apartment building.

"What do we even do for Christmas?" Stiles asks. Truth be told, he hasn't really celebrated the last couple of Christmases. At some point, holidays became just another day to him. Usually a day without having to deal with Theo, which was always a plus. Stiles wonders briefly if the reason Theo was never around was because he was spending them with Ainsley. Probably.

"My family usually does a big supper on Christmas day," Derek says. "No other real concrete plans now that we're all sort of spread out. Although I'm not sure what the plan is this year, what with, y'know, everything going on."

"Personally, I'd rather not have a big thing," Stiles says. "If you want to take DJ to your parents', I'll just stay back. Just don't leave DJ alone with your mother."

"Stiles, we're not gonna spend our first Christmas together apart," Derek says.

"It'll be fine," Stiles says. "I'm used to spending Christmas alone."

"I'd rather you get used to spending it with family again," Derek says.

"That does sound nice," Stiles says wistfully.

He'd like that for DJ.

***

In the end, Theo ends up being the last holdout in what has now been dubbed by the media as the Alabama Surrogacy Scam (which Stiles feels doesn't really convey the horror of everything that's happened, but nobody asked him). It's mostly because of this that people start painting him as the ringleader of the whole thing, though there really isn't any clear evidence to suggest it. Stiles himself isn't sure, but he wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be true.

Theo's wife Ainsley had taken a deal early on, along with some of the other alpha spouses who claimed that they'd had no idea what was going on and thought that everything was legit. It was difficult to parse out who knew what when, but with growing pressure from omega rights activists and Prime Collective survivors, the prosecution wasn't giving anyone any leeway and the spouses decided that taking their chances at trial would be too big a risk.

Finally, a few days before Christmas, Theo takes a plea deal. He ends up with 20 years in an Alabama prison, and upon release he will be placed on the sex offender registry and he won't be allowed to contact anyone else from the surrogacy ring or any children he's potentially sired.

Some spectators are angry at this outcome, and a lot of them think that Theo, and the others, should've gotten life without parole. Or worse. But to Stiles, it's more than he'd ever hoped for, considering that when he'd first gotten away from Theo he didn't think that Theo would get into any trouble at all for what he'd put Stiles through.

It's like an early Christmas gift. The only one that Theo ever gave him.

***

Stiles and Derek spend Christmas Eve cleaning the apartment so that their friends don't think they're the slobs that they clearly are.

"Maybe we should've gotten a Roomba," Derek mutters, tying off a full garbage bag. Stiles eyes the sock he's just pulled out from under the couch.

"I feel like that would be cruel to the Roomba," he says. DJ, sitting in a baby swing that used to belong to Aaron, doesn't comment as he is too busy staring at the dangly toys hanging from the mobile attached to the swing.

They've decided to host a small gathering with just a few friends. Derek's friends haven't met DJ in person yet, even though it's been months, so this will be their official introduction. Cora and Isaac had returned from Alabama the night before, so Stiles is sure they'll have plenty of stories to tell (there's a TikTok video featuring Cora tackling an alpha supremacist anti-protester that Stiles would like some context for). There will also be snacks, Chinese food, and Christmas specials on TV. Along with atmospheric lighting from the fully decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room.

It promises to be an entertaining night, and hopefully Stiles won't find it too overwhelming after so many years of not having this kind of socialization. Though he figures he'll be fine as long as he has Derek with him.

Stiles runs a Swiffer around the apartment as Derek goes outside to throw the trash into the building's dumpster. When he comes back upstairs, he drops onto the couch with a sigh. Stiles watches him for a few seconds, and then leans the Swiffer up against a nearby wall and approaches the couch. Derek makes a surprised noise as Stiles drops into his lap, straddling his thighs.

"Stiles, what--" Derek asks, automatically bringing his hands up to Stiles' hips to steady them.

"This isn't a come-on," Stiles says, though he blushes.

"Okay?" Derek asks.

"I just want to say, before everyone else gets here, that I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me this past year," Stiles says. "You've kept me safe, you've claimed my child, and you've treated us both with more love and respect than I ever believed anyone ever would. And I'll never be able to repay you for any of it."

"I don't want you to repay me," Derek says. "For anything."

"I know," Stiles says. He brings both his hands up to caress Derek's cheeks. "You'd never ask me for a single thing in return. You're not that type of person. So that's why I'm confident that I can give you this, free and clear, with no strings attached."

"What?" Derek asks, almost whispering.

"My heart," Stiles says, looking Derek straight in the eye. "I love you, Derek Hale. You saved me and our son. You let me into your home and your life and seem to actually enjoy having me around. You've kept me safe this whole time, and you let me be who I want to be, even if that means that I'm a bit different than what society says I should be as an omega." Derek is staring at Stiles with something like wonder in his eyes. "You have a big heart, Derek. Big enough to love a baby you didn't sire, and big enough to put up with all my baggage, and big enough to make me confident that I made the right choice in choosing you to be my alpha. In every sense of the word."

"I love you too, Stiles," Derek says. Stiles' heart soars. "You trusted me with everything, and it was a privilege to be included into your world. You gave me friendship, you gave me someone to come home to every night, and you gave me a family." Stiles lowers his head until his forehead is pressed against Derek's. "Stiles, when I watched you having DJ, I thought it was the most amazing thing I ever saw. _You_ were the most amazing thing I ever saw. That's when I really realized how strong you actually are, and that you don't actually need me, but that you actually want me here."

"I always want you here," Stiles says. "Even if this all started out as just a favour, you're an amazing husband. And an amazing father."

"So are you," Derek says.

"I'd say we make a pretty good pair," Stiles says. Gathering up his nerve, he leans down and presses his lips to Derek's. He feels Derek's gasp softly, before he presses back against Stiles. One of his hands moves up to cup the back of Stiles' head. He doesn't grab his hair or yank him forward, which eases some tension in Stiles and he melts against Derek's front.

They soon separate with a gasp and Stiles admires Derek's full and shiny lips for a second before burying his face in Derek's neck. Derek's arms wind around Stiles' back and then they're hugging.

"I love you," Stiles whispers into the skin of Derek's throat.

"I love you too."

***

***


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we are, folks! the end!
> 
> this was quite a ride, wasn't it?
> 
> i want to thank everyone for reading and leaving kudos and comments. i love that people enjoyed this, and hope that i've left the boys in a satisfying enough place
> 
> once again, thank you all and i hope you're all safe out there wherever you are
> 
> :D

***** 2 Years Later *****

The gazebo is just enough out of the way that it counts as semi-private, even if it is in a public park.

"Papa, look!" DJ exclaims, pointing up at the gazebo's clear glass ceiling. There's a bird resting on one of the panes, looking off at something in the distance.

"That's a bird," Derek tells DJ, who he's holding propped on one hip.

"Birb," DJ repeats. "Hi, birb!" He waves, but the bird, of course, doesn't notice anything. Derek chuckles at the little boy's frown. It looks so much like Stiles' when he's disappointed with the world. Both Derek and Stiles had been curious as to whether or not the boy would start looking more like Theo at some point. But so far he continues to take strongly after Stiles, to the point where it seems like his hair is even starting to darken.

"Do we have an extra guest?" Samuel asks, entering the gazebo. He looks up at the ceiling in time to see the bird suddenly fly away.

"No more birb," DJ says sadly.

"Guess he had better things to do," Derek says.

"Can't imagine there's anything better going on right now than this," Samuel says.

"You're just saying that 'cause you're my dad," Derek says.

"Maybe," Samuel says. "But I think I get to feel that way on the day my son gets married for real."

"Yeah," Derek says, grinning. "I guess so."

It's been a year since he proposed a do-over wedding to Stiles. Their first wedding had been just a formality and basically done under duress. It goes without saying that it had not been a happy occasion of a couple in love coming together and joining their lives.

Stiles deserved better than that. Hell, so did Derek.

So here they are, tucked away in a quiet corner of Beacon Hills Park on a warm sunny day, getting ready to renew their vows with a ceremony that they will be happy to look back on later.

The ceremony is meant to be short and understated (Stiles isn't interested in a big, fancy to-do, and Derek isn't too fussed either way as long as turns out better than their rushed courtroom 'wedding'), so the gazebo in the park makes for a fitting setting. This part of the park is more secluded and all the trees and plants in the area make for a fair illusion of privacy.

Folding chairs are set up in rows facing the gazebo, with a bolt of white fabric running between two sections of chairs and up into the gazebo. They actually have an aisle this go around.

They also have a wedding party. Not a huge one, but it's there. Cora is Stiles' best woman, while Boyd is Derek's best man. Aaron and DJ will be the ring bearers.

There's even a photographer.

Derek is determined to make this a wedding to be proud of.

***

The past two years have certainly been quite the ride.

After all the fanfare of the Alabama Surrogacy Scam died down and the news moved on to other crises, life in the apartment became fairly routine.

Stiles and Derek shared the tasks of raising DJ and looking after the apartment, while also exploring their new relationship. Derek eventually returned to work at the library, and Stiles balanced parenting with webcomic editing. He also continued his own semi-autobiographical webcomic and found quite a dedicated audience of people who were either interested in further insight into the surrogacy scam, or who were interested in a webcomic about an omega parent that wasn't an omega homemaker stereotype or a self-hating omega stereotype.

At some point in the last year he'd been able to monetize it. Stiles and Derek still maintain their separate finances, though they both contribute to the household.

DJ grew like a weed. Moving from infant to baby to toddler so fast it made both their heads spin. There were first solid foods, first words, first steps; and Derek still considered it his privilege to be there for all of it. All of the family dotes on him, aside from Talia, who never really warmed up to him. Though she is no longer a hostile presence, DJ doesn't think of her as a grandmother in any capacity, though Natalie had no issues filling that role for him.

Scott was released from prison after his year-long stint and ended up moving out of California altogether, Melissa eventually following him. Neither Stiles nor Derek know where they are, and they don't need to know. Scott is now the responsibility of his probation officer and has bigger things to worry about than what Stiles is up to these days. Stiles doesn't expect that he'll ever see or hear from either of them again.

A few months into her prison sentence, Ainsley sent a letter to Stiles. It took Stiles a whole week to gather the courage to read it. The letter was a mish-mash of justifications and pleas of innocence, and held a noticeable lack of apologies for everything that Stiles had been put through, and a lack of condemnation for Theo's actions. Stiles' response was, probably pettily, a plain 'GET FUCKED' in big block letters on a single sheet of paper. And then the sheriff got in contact with the prison where Ainsley was being held and made a huge fuss on the grounds that Ainsley should not have been able to contact Stiles under any circumstances. A convenient leak to the media (via Cora) had a lot of people up in arms about the whole affair, and victims rights advocates had an absolute field day with it. Whether or not anything concrete ever came from all of that, Stiles hasn't heard from Ainsley since.

Theo remains behind bars. The most recent update Stiles has on him is an article he'd accidentally come across that said that Theo had had more time put on his sentence for causing some trouble with some of the prison guards. He won't be getting out in 20 years. Stiles is openly thankful.

***

Derek finds that he's a little nervous as he stands in the gazebo beside the officiant, waiting for everything to start.

All their invited friends and family have been seated in their assigned sections and they all look up at Derek in anticipation. The sheriff and Natalie are sitting in the front row on one side, Lydia and Jackson behind them. Sitting alone behind them is an omega rights activist with a fairly popular blog who Stiles had agreed to let cover the wedding as long as she kept all identifying details out (she can say that he was one of the omegas rescued from the surrogacy scam and that's it). On the other side is Derek's family and friends. This includes Talia, who somehow _still_ isn't happy with the way things have turned out but has promised to be on her best behaviour.

Derek's gaze passes over everyone, and then is drawn to the opening in the trees, where there's a path that leads to the gazebo from the main area of the park. He surreptitiously checks the time on his phone. It's almost time to start.

It's quiet in this corner of the park. Derek can hear the distant sounds of children playing, dogs barking, and birds singing. The sun is bright overhead and the sky is blue. It's a perfect day for an outdoor wedding.

Derek isn't sure what the cue is, but soon Cora and Boyd step into view from behind some trees and start walking up the aisle. When they reach the gazebo, standing on either side of Derek, Aaron appears. He walks up the aisle slowly with a small pillow in his hands, upon which are Stiles and Derek's wedding rings.

Derek frowns. DJ was supposed to be walking up with Aaron. Where is his son?

The mystery is soon solved with the appearance of Stiles, who starts walking towards the gazebo with DJ on one hip. Traditionally, omegas are walked down the aisle by their alpha parent (or beta, if there is no alpha), but Stiles had elected to walk himself down since no one had the right to give him away but himself.

Stiles and DJ have matching suits on - deep blue with white shirts and red ties - and Stiles smiles at Derek all the way up the aisle. And even though Derek has been sharing his life with this man for more than two years now, the visual and the atmosphere are enough to make him choke up a bit.

Stiles reaches the gazebo and stands next to Derek. DJ has his head resting on Stiles' shoulder, he has tears in his eyes and his thumb in his mouth. He blinks wetly up at Derek.

"He didn't want to go down the aisle without me," Stiles says with a chuckle. He brushes a hand through DJ's hair. Derek smiles at them and leans forward to kiss DJ's head.

"I think I liked it better this way, actually," Derek murmurs. Stiles chuckles, DJ huffs. They both look at the officiator, who just gives them an amused shrug.

"Your wedding," she says.

And so Derek and Stiles face each other, DJ still in Stiles' arms, and recite their vows and say their 'I dos'. It's the same vows they said the first time around (although for this time Stiles nixed any mention of either of them 'obeying' the other), but this time there's more meaning. Derek feels it this time, with his whole heart. He's sure Stiles does too, if the emotion in his eyes is anything to go by.

This time around, they get to exchange rings and seal the vows with a kiss.

"Me too!" DJ shrieks after Stiles and Derek separate, drawing a laugh from the audience. Stiles and Derek deliver a kiss to each of DJ's cheeks, which seems to work for him.

"Congratulations," the officiator says. "I wish you both well."

***/***

Stiles finds himself having a surprisingly good time at the reception in the Hales' backyard. Even now, after all this time, he still has some difficulty with crowds, but it turns out that a crowd of loved and trusted individuals (plus Talia) doesn't trigger his anxiety much at all.

Even so, it's still more people than he's used to all at once, so he sticks close to Derek for the most part.

He's happy to notice that DJ doesn't seem to have that problem, racing around with Aaron and weaving between the guests as part of whatever game they're playing. Stiles keeps an eye on him at all times. And not because of the fear that still lingers of Theo appearing from out of nowhere to snatch him (Theo who is still in prison in Alabama), but more because he doesn't want the kid taking off into the surrounding woods. Having to track down a toddler in the woods in growing darkness would be an absolute nightmare on so many levels.

This whole day has been such a turnaround from the first wedding. Stiles had initially only really wanted to do this for Derek's sake, because if anyone deserves a proper wedding it's him, but he's finding that he's enjoying it for his own sake as well. He's happy that his loved ones are all here to celebrate him and Derek, and he's happy that they'll have this to look back on and to share with DJ when he's older. He's genuinely having a good time.

Even Talia's obvious indifference can't spoil the mood.

After the meal has been eaten and the cake has been cut, smashed into faces, and distributed, the sun goes down and the backyard is lit up with fairy lights. It looks magical.

Peter has managed to acquire an almost professional grade sound system from somewhere and soon, once the tables and chairs have been moved to one side, the backyard becomes an impromptu dance floor. Sure, they'll be dancing on the grass, but it works out fine. It seems especially popular for those who've abandoned their shoes at some point.

Derek and Stiles are the first out for the traditional first dance. Stiles finds it a bit nerve-wracking, being the center of attention like that, but he's safe in Derek's arms and that makes it more bearable. Luckily it's not long before Cora and Isaac, newly engaged themselves, start swaying together next to them, which sends the message to everyone else to join in.

Even DJ and Aaron get in on the fun, jumping around and waving their arms even though it's a slow song.

Once the song is over and the music becomes more upbeat, Stiles and Derek leave the dance area and sit together on a couple of nearby chairs to watch everyone else. A few other people who also aren't particularly into fast dancing - Malia, Boyd, a heavily pregnant Jordan - also head for seats on the sidelines. Stiles leans his head on Derek's shoulder and yawns. After all today's excitement, he's gonna have an early night tonight.

"How're you holding up?" Derek asks him.

"Surprisingly well," Stiles says. "Today was nice. I'm glad we got to do this."

"We deserve to be celebrated," Derek says.

"Hell yeah, we do," Stiles says. DJ, with a literal handful of cake (for some reason), suddenly rushes past the dancers and over to his parents. He tries to throw himself into Stiles' lap, only for Derek to catch him and place him there gently.

"Careful," Derek says. "You don't want to hit Daddy's tummy."

"No," DJ agrees, and takes a bite of his cake, spreading frosting all over his face. Stiles can't resist the urge to cuddle him close and blow a raspberry on his cheek, making DJ squeal with laughter.

"Someone's going to need a bath tonight," Derek comments.

"Ew," DJ says. Derek laughs to himself. He loops an arm around Stiles' waist and pulls him as close as their chairs will allow. Stiles decides that's not close enough and just wriggles himself and DJ straight into Derek's lap, which is one of his favourite places to be if he's perfectly honest.

Now Derek's arm has enough reach to fully curl around Stiles' side, putting his hand on the subtle swell of Stiles' middle. It's not noticeable under his suit jacket so no one's picked up on it yet (though Cora did give Stiles a considering side-eye when he went for water instead of champagne during the toasts). So far Derek is the only one who knows, and Stiles can't wait to see everyone's reaction when he tells them his news.

Even though life is going to continue much the same as it has for the past couple of years, Stiles almost feels like he's starting over. He has a wonderful husband and son, loving family and friends, a budding career, and a new baby on the way that was wholly planned by both him and Derek. His online presence is now more often than not focused on his webcomic and editing and less about what he went through with Theo.

Tonight, after everyone is tired of partying, Stiles will take his family home. DJ will be given a bath and be put to bed. Derek and Stiles will escape to their room to discuss buying a bigger place for their expanding family while watching their regular night-time movie, that Stiles will fall asleep halfway through because growing a person is hard work, especially after a busy day.

Then he'll wake up the next morning in the arms of his husband and be excited, instead of apprehensive, at what the day might bring.

If he can wake up like that for the rest of his life, he'll consider himself as having made it.

All he ever wanted out of life was to be happy.

And now he is.

***

***

END


End file.
